[Echo-morphometric characteristics of human skin in patients with idiopathic scoliosis]

The purpose of the work was to explore the informational value and methodological aspects of the echographic evaluation of the skin structural characteristics in patients with idiopathic thoracolumbar scoliosis (IS), grades III-IV. The study included 49 patients with grades III-IV IS aged 7-18 years and 16 healthy people. According to echomorphometric data, the age dependence of the of the skin thickness was detected in thoracic, lumbar, areas and in the lower extremity regions. In patients aged 14-16 years with, the asymmetry of skin thickness was found between the left and right areas of the thoracic area (P < 0.05). Skin of thoracic area in IS patients aged 12-16 years was significantly thinner than in healthy persons of the same age. Statistically significant correlation of an average power between the body mass index (BMI) and the skin thickness of thoracic and lumbar areas was detected in IS patients, while in the group of healthy persons there was a highly significant correlation between the skin thickness of the thoracic area and BMI.