Background: The prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in the general pediatric population is reported to be between 0.5% and 3.2%. Previous studies have reported an increased prevalence of scoliosis in children with cystic fibrosis (CF).
Hypothesis: The prevalence of scoliosis in CF children is greater than in the normal population.
Methods: Chest X-rays of 319 patients attending the Royal Brompton CF Centre were reviewed. The Cobb angle of any spinal lateral curvature was measured. Scoliosis was defined as a Cobb angle of more than 10°.
Results: Median age of the whole group of patients was 10.9 years (range 1.1-18 years), 53% were females. Seven patients (2.2%) had radiological signs of scoliosis, their mean age was 14.5 ± 2.3 years (range: 11.5-18 years), 5 were females. Age at onset of scoliosis was between 5 and 10 years for three patients and over 10 years for the others. All the curves were thoracic and with right convexity: apices between T7 and T9 for the single curves (n = 5) and between T4 and T5 (n = 2) for the double curves.
Conclusion: CF patients showed a similar prevalence of scoliosis as in the normal population (2.2% vs. 0.5-3.2%). There was the same gender (female) and side (right-sided) predilection as in normal population.
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