Most patients with scoliosis developing after the age of 10 don't need routine MRI scanning before spine-straightening surgery, according to a study in the April 14 issue of Spine.
The study, led by Dr. Mohammad Diab of the University of California, San Francisco, concluded that preoperative MRI scanning in young scoliosis patients without symptoms of neurological abnormalities adds costs, detects few abnormalities, and adds little information for surgical planning.
The researchers analzyed 2,206 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, who were part of a larger study of scoliosis surgery in children. They found that 42% of these patients underwent MRI before surgery. The scans detected other abnormalities in approximately 10% of children screened, or about 4% overall.
The most common abnormalities were congenital malformations with the potential to cause spinal cord damage. More severe curvature of the middle spine and juvenile scoliosis developing before age 10 were associated with a higher rate of MRI abnormalities.
These factors might be helpful in identifying which children should undergo preoperative MRI scanning, the authors noted.
