Study design: A prospective, cross-sectional analysis of patients with operative idiopathic scoliosis comparing Scoliosis Research Society's Outcomes Instrument (SRS-24) scores from both parents and patients obtained separately on the same day along with pertinent radiographic data.
Objective: To determine the correlation of parents' and patients' perspectives of the patients' preoperative and postoperative experience using the SRS-24 questionnaire emphasizing parent-patient disparities.
Summary of background data: No report to our knowledge has addressed the association between parent assessments of their child's presurgical and postsurgical outcome as verified by SRS-24 questionnaire data.
Materials and methods: A total of 101 patients with operative idiopathic scoliosis were analyzed based on paired parent-patient SRS-24 data and radiographs performed on the same day. Patients were analyzed by age at date of examination (9-23 years, mean 17 +/- 5 years), gender (16 male, 85 female), major curve magnitude (41-126 degrees ), procedure type [preoperative (22 pairs), anterior spinal fusion (49 pairs), anterior spinal fusion/posterior spinal fusion (19 pairs), posterior spinal fusion (46 pairs)], and time from surgery (preoperative, postoperative 1-93 months, mean 24 months). All questionnaire scores were classified based on domains of pain, self-image, function, overall satisfaction, and total score.
Results: In overall time periods, parents consistently scored higher than their children in the self-image (P = 0.0001), satisfaction (P = 0.0001), and total score (P = 0.04), but not pain or function. Before surgery, parents overestimated patients' scores in self-image (P = 0.002) by 7.5% but not other domains. Satisfaction differences (P = 0.04) improved with increasing age of the patient, but not other domains. There were no significant differences with gender or preoperative/postoperative major curve magnitudes.
Conclusion: Based on SRS-24 data, parents typically scored higher than their children in the operative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis in total score, self-image, and overall satisfaction. Some parent-patient scores correlated better with increasing age of the patient, and later in the postoperative period.