School screening for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Two school examination schemes for scoliosis were compared in a defined population of 13,757 children. During the first period, there was no screening program. During the second period, all children in grades 4-8 were examined yearly by forward-bending tests. Brace treatments were started in 0.39%. The two periods did not differ significantly with respect to frequency of children regularly observed for scoliosis by orthopedic surgeons, frequency of brace treatment, age at detection, or mean scoliotic curve at the start of treatment. A single forward-bending test in grade 4 appears to be sufficient for detection of scoliosis requiring treatment.