RESUMEN
Routinely, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) curves that progress beyond 40° in skeletally immature adolescents require surgery. However, some adolescents with AIS and their parents utterly refuse surgery and insist on wearing a brace. Debate continues regarding the appropriateness of bracing for AIS curves exceeding 40° in patients who have rejected surgical intervention. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to review the literature on the effectiveness of bracing and its predictive factors in largermagnitude AIS curves ≥40°. This study replicated the search strategy used by the PICOS system for formulating study questions, which include consideration of the patient/population (P), intervention (I), comparison (C), outcome (O), and study design (S). The search was conducted up to January 2022 in the following bibliographic online databases only in the English language: PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Two assessors reviewed the articles for qualification. Eligible studies were assessed for risk of bias at the study level using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The effect size across the studies was determined using standardized mean differences (Cohen's d) and 95% confidence intervals for the meta-analysis. Among the eight included moderate quality studies, evidence of potential publication bias (p <0.05) for the trials included was found in the Cobb angle outcome. Results obtained through meta-analysis indicated that the effectiveness of bracing in controlling Cobb angle progression in curves ≥40° is significantly positive. Additionally, initial curve severity, Risser stage, in-brace curve correction, curve type, and apical vertebral rotation were considered risk factors associated with brace effectiveness. This systematic review revealed that bracing could alter the normal course of AIS curves ≥40° in patients refusing posterior spinal fusion (PSF). However, the suggested course for patients refusing PSF remains unclear because of the significant heterogeneity in the risk factors associated with bracing failure.
RESUMEN
This is a report of a diabetic transtibial amputee with severe pain and ulcer in the antero-distal of the tibia. A novel prosthetic socket with an antero-distal silicone wall was designed. The result showed that the patient's satisfaction was increased and the average peak pressure was reduced by using the new socket design.
RESUMEN
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of brace treatment on the stress level and quality of life (QoL) of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. Patients and methods: A total of 194 adolescent individuals were evaluated in two groups: the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) group with 97 patients (20 males, 77 females; mean age: 13.9±1.8 years; range 10 to 18 years) and the control group with 97 age-and sex-matched participants (20 males, 77 females; mean age: 14.3±1.7 years; range 10 to 18 years) with no spinal deformity. The AIS group wore the Milwaukee brace or a thoracolumbosacral orthosis based on the location of the apical vertebra. All participants of the AIS group filled the Persian versions of the revised Scoliosis Research Society 22-item questionnaire (SRS-22r), the eight-item Bad Sobernheim Stress Questionnaire (BSSQ)-Deformity, and BSSQ-Brace. The control group only answered the first 20 items (subtotal items) of the SRS-22r. The brace-related QoL and stress level were assessed based on sex, brace, and deformity types. Results: The subtotal score of the SRS-22r in the AIS group was significantly lower than the control group (p<0.001). There was a significant difference between deformity-related stress and brace-related stress (p<0.001). Regarding the type of treatment, there were no significant differences in QoL and stress level between the Milwaukee brace and thoracolumbosacral orthosis groups (p>0.05). Moreover, there was a weak correlation between the BSSQ-Brace and the self-image, mental-health scores, and the total scores of the SRS-22r (r=0.39 to 0.42, p<0.001); the low level of perceived stress was associated with a high level of perceived QoL. Conclusion: The stress due to brace treatment can decrease function/activity and self-image of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Traction has been suggested to be an effective treatment for symptoms of neck disorder in patients with no contraindications. However, according to previous researches, the effectiveness of traction is controversial, particularly compared to other conservative treatments. This trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of sustained traction, using an over-the-door home cervical traction unit in combination with routine physical therapy on reducing cervical osteoarthrosis symptoms including neck pain, medication use and disability level compared to routine physical therapy alone. METHODS: In this double- blinded pilot study with a pre-post test design and a control group, 20 women with mild to moderate osteoarthrosis were systematically assigned to the over-the-door home cervical traction (mean±SD age: 50.5±4.45yrs) or control groups (mean±SD age: 55.6±7.34yrs). Pain, level of disability, and drug consumption were evaluated before and after 10 sessions of intervention. Data were analyzed using parametric or non-parametric statistic including the paired-sample t-test, independent sample t-test, and Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney u test for intra and inter groups comparison based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results. RESULTS: Patients in both groups showed a significant decrease in pain intensity and disability level (p<0.05). Despite the greater improvement in pain levels and disability in the experimental group compared to the controls, the differences were not significant (p>0.05). No significant differences were found in terms of drugs consumption within and between the groups at the end of the treatment (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The results revealed that applying sustained traction using an over-the-door home cervical traction unit was not significantly superior to the routine physical therapy and ergonomic training to manage symptoms including neck pain and disability in a small group of mild to moderate cervical osteoarthrosis patients.
