Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41249699›Full record

ArticleSpine deformity2026

Barriers to early detection: the impact of healthcare access and screening on conservative treatment opportunities in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Tristan Chari, John Atwater, Emily Poehlein, Cynthia L Green, Elizabeth Sachs, Robert K Lark, Anthony A Catanzano

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Article in Spine deformity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Tristan ChariSchool of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
John AtwaterSchool of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Emily PoehleinDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Cynthia L GreenDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Elizabeth SachsDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, USA.
Robert K LarkDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, USA.
Anthony A CatanzanoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, USA. Anthony.catanzano@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7418-9561

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPrior to surgical intervention for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), patients with mild-to-moderate deformity and skeletal growth remaining can be treated conservatively after referral to specialists. Healthcare access may influence screening opportunities and time-to-referral and, therefore, the potential for conservative treatment. This study aimed to assess whether specific social determinants of health (SDOH) and access to care predispose patients to late presentation.

methodsAIS patients over a 2-year period at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed, assessing the association between SDOH (race/ethnicity, ADI, COI, insurance, distance to institution, and PCP affiliation) and the odds of presenting with surgical indications (> 50°). Secondary aims assessed associations between SDOH and initial treatment type and referral-to-appointment time. Generalized linear models were used with the odds ratio (OR) or geometric mean ratio (GMR) reported.

results279 patients with mean age 13.5 years and 72% female were included. No SDOH were associated with increased odds of a > 50° curve at presentation. However, patients with an institution-affiliated well-child visit had higher odds of observation vs. surgery compared to patients with a non-affiliated visit (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.06-4.90, P = 0.035). A 10-mile increase in distance from our institution was associated with a 2.9% increase in time from referral to appointment (GMR per 10 miles 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, P = 0.009). DISCUSSION: Several factors related to healthcare access influenced initial treatment and referral delays, such as referrals from non-affiliated PCPs and patients from further away had delayed presentation. These findings emphasize potential barriers to healthcare access, including poor screening and delayed referrals, both which may cause patients to initially present with more severe scoliosis.

Indexed as

Conservative TreatmentHealth Services AccessibilityScoliosisAdolescentChildEarly DiagnosisFemaleHumansMaleMass ScreeningReferral and ConsultationRetrospective StudiesSocial Determinants of HealthTime-to-TreatmentAdolescent idiopathic scoliosisBracingScreeningSocial determinants of heatlh

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.