• Daniel J Miller, Jeanne M Franzone, Hiroko Matsumoto, Jaime A Gomez, Javier Avendaño, Joshua E Hyman, David P Roye, and Michael G Vitale.
• Division of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
• Spine. 2012 Apr 20; 37 (9): 717-21.

Study DesignRandomized controlled trial.ObjectiveTo assess whether monitoring increases brace-wearing compliance in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).Summary Of Background DataNoncompliance is a barrier to brace treatment of AIS. Studies have demonstrated that monitoring improves medication compliance; however, this has not been investigated in spinal braces.MethodsTwenty-one patients (mean age = 12.4 ± 2.0 years) with AIS were prescribed treatment with a custom-made Thoraco-Lumbo-Sacral-Orthosis for 18 hours a day using a standardized script. Before beginning treatment, 10 patients were randomized to be informed that their compliance was monitored, whereas 11 patients were unaware. Compliance was measured via a temperature probe embedded within the Thoraco-Lumbo-Sacral-Orthosis hidden from view.ResultsPatients who were notified that they had a monitor in their brace demonstrated significantly increased compliance during the first 14 weeks of treatment compared with those who were uninformed (85.7% vs. 56.5%, P = 0.029), corresponding to a mean difference of 5.24 hours of daily brace wear.ConclusionElectronic monitoring can improve compliance with orthoses in patients with spinal deformity during a short observation period.

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