Introduction: Brace treatment is a high-evidence treatment approach in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The aim of this study is to compare a premenarchal patient group with a postmenarchal group to evaluate the hypothesis that initiating brace treatment after menarche is more effective than starting it before menarche. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of a prospective cohort with the final results of treatment with a Computer-Aided Chêneau Derivative Gensingen Brace. The available chart was divided into 2 categories: premenarchal and postmenarchal patients. The outcomes of the 2 groups were compared for Cobb angle and angle of trunk rotation (ATR). Results: The mean age of the patients (n = 87) included in the study was 12.2 years. A total of 30 patients had reached menarche, with a mean time since menarche of 6 months. In the premenarche group, 82.5% of patients had a stable or improved Cobb angle after treatment. Similarly, 90% of patients in the postmenarche group had a Cobb angle that was either stable or reduced. After treatment, the 2 groups' differences in Cobb angle and ATR measurements were similar ( p > 0.05). Conclusions: According to the study's findings, patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis receiving brace treatment who had and had not reached menarche showed comparable changes in Cobb angle and ATR, 2 important indicators of deformity. These findings highlight the importance of considering rapid growth and the increased risk of scoliosis progression before the onset of menarche when selecting conservative treatment strategies.
Çolak et al. (Wed,) studied this question.