Scoliosis in cystic fibrosis--an appraisal

An unusually high prevalence (10%) of scoliosis is described in a series of 151 patients aged four years and older with cystic fibrosis. The scolioses were of the late onset (juvenile and adolescent) type, being typically thoracic with the curve convex to the right, although there was no significant preference for either sex. No direct relationship was found between the spinal curvature and the severity or distribution of the lung disease, although the worse scolioses tended to occur in patients with relatively severe pulmonary involvement. There was no evidence of metabolic bone disease as a predisposing cause. Some indication of a familial tendency towards scoliosis was apparent, and a genetic or constitutional basis is postulated with an unknown precipitating factor.