ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to assess the quality of life, physical function, self-motivation, and self-perception of skeletally mature patients with spina bifida and scoliosis. This is a prospective study on 19 skeletally mature patients with a mean age of 21.4 years. Several questionnaires were used for the study: Activities Scale for Kids, Quality of Life in Spina Bifida Questionnaire, The Health Self-Determinism Index for Children, Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, and the Spina Bifida Spine Questionnaire. This study found no association between spinal deformity or other features related to spina bifida and self-perception, motivation, and overall physical function. More severe scoliosis affects quality of life and is related to the degree of pelvic obliquity and the age of the patients. Individuals with motor-level dysfunction below L3 had significantly better overall physical function compared with those with a higher level of lesions. This was the only factor found to affect physical function. Our findings suggest that most limitations in patients with spina bifida are not related to the degree of scoliosis but to other associated disabilities.
Subject(s)
Disability Evaluation , Meningomyelocele/psychology , Quality of Life , Scoliosis/psychology , Spinal Dysraphism/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Cohort Studies , Disabled Persons/statistics & numerical data , Female , Humans , Male , Meningomyelocele/complications , Prospective Studies , Scoliosis/etiology , Self Concept , Sex Factors , Sickness Impact Profile , Spinal Dysraphism/complications , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyse the results of treatment of sonographically diagnosed type IIb developmental hip dysplasia and to identify residual hip dysplasia using clinical and radiological assessment. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 49 children (59 type IIb and 39 type I hips, according to Graf's monographic classification) treated in abduction braces. The mean age was 9.1 years (range 4-15) at latest follow-up. RESULTS: According to the clinical classification of Mckay in Barrett's modification, all the type I and type IIb hips had very good results. No statistical differences were found between type I and IIb hips when comparing both measured radiological parameters and radiological results according to the Severin classification at latest follow-up. Using our criteria (two or more radiological parameters were outside of their normal range), 12 out of 49 type IIb hips demonstrated persistent dysplasia. Of the 12 hips, eight sonograms were normal at the end of treatment and four patients failed to normalise. No type I hips demonstrated two or more abnormal radiographic parameters at latest follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Despite obtaining normal sonograms at the end of treatment, some children with type IIb dysplasia may demonstrate radiographic evidence of persistent hip dysplasia over a longer follow-up period. Our results suggest that these children should be monitored until skeletal maturity.
