A: The assessment of lung function in children with scoliosis

Abnormalities of lung function in 92 children with idiopathic or congenital scoliosis are described. The changes are restrictive in type with reduction in vital capacity and total lung capacity but normal residual volume. In children whose curves had an early onset, the amount by which vital capacity was reduced depended on the severity of the deformity; in those whose curves began in adolescence this severity had little or no effect on vital capacity. Most adolescents with idiopathic curves had normal or near normal lung volumes and measurement of vital capacity proved to be a reliable screening test. We therefore advocate a simple approach to the pre-operative pulmonary investigation of scoliotic patients; only a few require full spirometry. In the United Kingdom over the past decade operative methods have become widely used for the treatment of scoliosis. Many articles describing the effects of scoliosis on lung function have been published (Gazioglu et al