Results of Gensingen Bracing in Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Feasibility Study.
Xiaofeng Nan, Tuğba Kuru Çolak, Burçin Akçay and 3 others
PMID 38198197WHAT IT FOUND
In 33 girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, full-time Gensingen brace follow-up records showed a Cobb angle 11.7 degrees lower than baseline; no patient progressed.
This is a retrospective single-center feasibility study, not a controlled test of brace efficacy.
Key findings
01The mean Cobb angle was 11.7 degrees lower at follow-up than before treatment, and the paper states this was a 35% improvement from the initial value.
02Thoracic trunk rotation decreased by a mean of 4.5 degrees and lumbar trunk rotation by a mean of 3.2 degrees from baseline to follow-up.
03No patient had curve progression; 26 of 33 had curve improvement and 7 had curve stabilization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was a retrospective nonrandomized feasibility study with no control group, so it cannot show that the brace alone caused the changes. Only 33 of 115 patients from 2014 to 2018 had complete data after at least 3 months of follow-up after brace weaning. Daily brace wearing time was recorded by asking parents and patients, and one patient reported 16 hours while the others reported at least 20 hours. The study was done at one center, and the authors note the cohort was from mainland China, which may limit generalizability. The paper’s purpose was to test a database template for future prospective multicenter studies, so the treatment results are not from a designed efficacy trial.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 11.7° mean improvement and no progression as proof that the Gensingen brace works better than no treatment or other braces. This was a retrospective single-center feasibility study with no control group, and the authors present it as testing a database template for future prospective studies.