Not only being compliant, but also being constant in brace wearing improves short-term results: a prospective Thermobrace study

Methods Prospective controlled cohort study nested into a clinical database started in 2003. On December 31, 2012, out of 11,800 patients in the database, we selected 168 who met the following inclusion criteria: Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Sforzesco brace prescription 18 to 23 hours/day, at least four months of observation, Thermobrace (TB) adoption and out-of-brace x-ray before treatment. CBW (104 patients) was compared to ficklebrace wearing (FBW: 64): due to the abnormal distribution of TB values, one hour in the inter-quartile range distinguished the two groups. A 6-degree Cobb cut-off was defined to classify results as improved, worsened or stabilized. Patients were also classified for compliance: High (HC: >95% of prescription), Middle (MC: 70-94%) and Low (LC: <70%). For statistical analysis, chi-square test has been used; the relative risk (RR) of not improvement (i.e., progression or stabilization only) with 95% Confidence Interval (IC95) has been calculated as well.