Does spinal deformity affect adolescents’ quality of life before we tell them it should?

Purpose The Scoliosis Research Society 22r Questionnaire(SRS-22r) is the standard for assessing health-related quality of life(HRQoL) in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Here we investigate whether patients’ perceptions of their HRQoL are influenced by knowledge of scoliosis and counseling by an orthopedic surgeon. Methods Patients ages 10–18 years referred for their first visit with an orthopaedic surgeon for scoliosis were enrolled from 9/30/19 to 10/22/20. Patients completed the SRS-22r pre- and post-visit. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze the SRS-22r scores. Results 52 patients participated in the study at a mean age of 14.3 years (95% CI 13.8–14.8 years) with an average major curve magnitude of 23.2 degrees (95% CI 19.4–27.0 degrees). SRS-22r scores were not correlated to curve magnitude pre- or post-visit. The SRS-22r Satisfaction with care domain exhibited a small increase from pre- to post-visit (pre: 3.3, post: 3.6). All other SRS-22r domains and total scores did not exhibit clinically significant differences. Conclusion Among new adolescent referrals for scoliosis, it is unlikely that counseling by a surgeon influences perceptions of HRQoL as measured by the SRS-22r. Level of Evidence III.