Occurrence of cold agglutinins in congenital scoliosis

Eighty-seven patients undergoing spinal surgery for a variety of conditions were surveyed for the presence of cold agglutinins. Patients with congenital scoliosis or metastatic lesions of the spine were found to have a frequency of cold agglutinins that was 250 to 1000 times greater than that in the general population. This greater frequency was independent of ABO blood group, sex, or age. Pre-admission screening of congenital scoliosis patients is urged.