Impact of reduced school scoliosis screenings due to COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Journal of Spine Research Vol. 15; no. 11; pp. 1272 - 1276
• Main Authors: Saino, Shoichi, Senoo, Issei, Ito, Hiroshi, Okayasu, Hiroki, Tsumura, Junichi, Kobayashi, Tetsuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research 20.11.2024; 一般社団法人 日本脊椎脊髄病学会
• Subjects: COVID-19; scoliosis; 側弯症; 新型コロナウイルス
• ISSN: 1884-7137; 2435-1563
• DOI: 10.34371/jspineres.2024-1105

Introduction: We investigated the impact of reduced school scoliosis screenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic on scoliosis management.Methods: The subjects were 104 patients who initially visited the scoliosis outpatient clinic (outpatient clinic group) and 720 participants who underwent school screening (school screening group) from January 2017 to March 2022. We studied the age and radiographic findings at the initial visit in both group. We compared these findings before the COVID-19 pandemic (before March 2020) and after the pandemic began (after April 2020).Results: In the outpatient clinic group, the average age was higher after the pandemic (before the pandemic 12.7±1.5 years vs. after the pandemic 13.4±2.2 years, P=0.0434). The percentage of patients with a Cobb angle of 20-24° at their initial visit, considered borderline for treatment, decreased after the pandemic (before the pandemic 18.2% vs. after the pandemic 7.9%, P=0.0437). In the school screening group, the average number of participants decreased (before the pandemic 159.7 people/year, after the pandemic 120.5 people/year), and the average Cobb angle increased (before the pandemic 11.2±6.9°, after the pandemic 15.3±8.1°, P=0.0002).Conclusion: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, early detection of scoliosis may have been delayed and the optimal timing for treatment may have been missed.