A comparison of the somatometric measurements of adolescent males with and without idiopathic scoliosis.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study comparing the somatometric measurements of young males with normal spinal curves and with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with respect to the severity of AIS. OBJECTIVE: To assess the somatometric measurements of young males with normal spinal curves and with AIS using the conscription data. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The progression of AIS is closely correlated with longitudinal growth during puberty. Although abnormal growth in female AIS patients has been well investigated, the growth of male AIS patients has not been well reported. METHODS: During Korean conscription, 409 adolescent males with a normal spinal curvature and 420 adolescent males with AIS were enrolled. Those with AIS were grouped according to the severity of scoliosis using Cobb angles, according to the guidelines issued by the Korean military directorate. Group somatometric measurements, such as body height, corrected body height (corrected using Bjure's equation), body weight, and body mass index (BMI) were compared. RESULTS: Uncorrected heights were insignificantly different (P=0.234), but corrected heights, body weights, and BMIs were all significantly different between the normal and all AIS groups (P<0.001) (in AIS, corrected height was greater and body weight and BMIs corrected or uncorrected for height were lower). Cobb angles were not related to corrected body height or BMI, but was related to weight. Body weight was significantly less in the severe AIS group (Cobb angle >40 degrees) than in the mild or moderate AIS group (P<0.042). CONCLUSIONS: In Korean male AIS patients, significantly different somatometric results were observed: namely, a greater corrected height and a lower body weight and BMIs corrected or uncorrected for height. Furthermore, body weight was significantly lower in the severe group than in the moderate group. This study shows that abnormal growth is observed in male AIS patients and that body weight is closely correlated with AIS severity.

Missed lumbar disc herniations diagnosed with kinetic magnetic resonance imaging.

STUDY DESIGN: A novel dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, kinetic MRI (kMRI), was used to study lumbar disc herniations. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine if adding flexion and extension MRI studies to the traditional neutral views would be beneficial in the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniations. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Prior studies demonstrate that only 70% of patients with lumbar disc herniations based on physical examinations are confirmed by MRI studies. Recently, kMRI delivers the ability to scan patients in neutral, flexion, and extension positions, which may allow for improved diagnosis of this problem. METHODS: Five hundred fifty-three patients underwent kMRI with assessment of the degree of disc bulge in neutral and flexion and extension. The images were analyzed using computer measurement technology to objectively quantify the amount of disc herniation. RESULTS: For patients with normal or <3 mm of disc bulge in neutral, 19.46% demonstrated an increase in herniation to >3 mm bulge in extension, and 15.29% demonstrated an increase to >3 mm bulge in flexion. For patients in the neutral view that had a baseline disc bulge of 3 to 5 mm, 13.28% had increased herniations to >5 mm in extension and 8.47% had increased herniations to >5 mm in flexion. For patients with a baseline disc bulge of 5 to 7 mm in neutral, 10.58% increased in extension and 5.78% increased in flexion. In addition, for patients with a baseline disc bulge of 7 to 9 mm in neutral, 9.09% increased in extension and 4.55% increased in flexion. CONCLUSION: A significant increase in the degree of lumbar disc herniation was found by examining flexion and extension views when compared with neutral views alone. kMRI views provide valuable added information, especially in situations where symptomatic radiculopathy is present without any abnormalities demonstrated on conventional MRI.