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Health-related quality of life and clinical outcomes for magnetically controlled growing rod patients after treatment termination

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Abstract

Purpose

To determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and clinical outcomes of children with early onset scoliosis (EOS) treated with magnetically controlled growing rods (MCGR) followed to definitive fusion (DF).

Methods

A retrospective review of EOS patients treated with MCGR and followed to DF was performed. Outcomes included HRQoL scores, radiographic, clinical, and unplanned returns to the operating room (UPROR) data collected at pre-MCGR implantation, immediately post-MCGR implantation, pre-DF, and post-DF. HRQoL scores were collected at least 6 months post-DF.

Results

Twenty-eight patients (57.1% females, mean age at MCGR insertion 7.19 ± 1.5 years, mean pre-MCGR Cobb 64.7° ± 17.6) met inclusion criteria. MCGR treatment resulted in an overall 30.2% improvement in coronal plane deformity following DF. The mean growth rates between MCGR implantation and pre-DF for T1–T12 height and T1–S1 length were 0.33 ± 0.23 mm/month and 0.49 ± 0.28 mm/month, respectively. Of the 28 included patients, 26 (92.9%) experienced at least one UPROR, with a total of 52 surgical complications occurring in the total cohort, representing 1.9 UPROR/patient. Interestingly, there was a decline in scores reported between post-MCGR implantation and the pre-DF time-point (N = 16, 78.2 ± 14.9 vs 69.7 ± 17.8, p = 0.02). These scores recovered post-DF, resulting in an overall unchanged HRQoL when comparing pre-MCGR to post-DF (N = 11, 79.9 ± 15.1 vs 76.7 ± 17.9, p = 0.44).

Conclusion

While MCGR treatment achieves coronal plane deformity control and facilitates spinal growth, only 7.1% of children experienced a complication-free treatment course when followed to definitive fusion. Patients achieved modest curve correction and spinal growth, while maintaining stable HRQoL outcomes between pre-MCGR and post-DF.

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Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Adam A. Jamnik

  2. Department of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA

    K. Aaron Shaw

  3. Department of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Scottish Rite for Children, 2222 Welborn St, Dallas, TX, 75219, USA

    David Thornberg, Anna McClung, Chan-Hee Jo, Brandon Ramo & Amy McIntosh

Authors
  1. Adam A. Jamnik
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  2. K. Aaron Shaw
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  3. David Thornberg
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  4. Anna McClung
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  5. Chan-Hee Jo
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  6. Brandon Ramo
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  7. Amy McIntosh
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Contributions

AJ: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript Drafting, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. KAS: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript Drafting, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. DT: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. AM: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. CJ: Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. BR: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript editing, Manuscript Approval, Accountable. AM: Study Design, Data Analysis, Data Interpretation, Manuscript editing, Manuscript Approval, Accountable.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy McIntosh.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Dr. Jamnik, Mr. Thornberg, Dr. Jo, and Dr. Ramo report nothing to disclose; Dr. Shaw reports being a board of committee member for AAOS and the North American Spine Society; Dr. McIntosh reports being a paid speaker for Nuvasive.

Ethics approval

Approval was granted for this study by our institution’s IRB, UT Southwestern.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their parents/guardians. Assent was obtained for patients with the ability who were greater than 10 and less than 18 years of age.

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Participants signed informed consents which include information with regards to publish their data.

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Jamnik, A.A., Shaw, K.A., Thornberg, D. et al. Health-related quality of life and clinical outcomes for magnetically controlled growing rod patients after treatment termination. Spine Deform 12, 853–863 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43390-023-00801-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43390-023-00801-y

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