Analysis of cardiopulmonary exercise testing results of 46 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients without pulmonary dysfunction

Abstract

Objective To explore the cardiopulmonary function and exercise capacity of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients without pulmonary dysfunction. Methods In this retrospective study, the results of exercise tests administered to AIS patients without pulmonary dysfunction were reviewed seeking any consistent relationship between scoliosis location and severity and the test results. Correlations relating pulmonary function, body mass index (BMI), age and exercises tolerance were also sought. Results Forty-six patients were included, 17 with solely thoracic scoliosis, 11 with solely thoracolumbar scoliosis and 18 with both thoracic and thoracolumbar scoliosis. Ten of those studied (21.74%) had normal exercise tolerance, while in 24 exercise tolerance was mildly impaired, in 11 moderately and in 1 severely. The average peak minute ventilation (MV) of the thoracic scoliosis group [(43.11±8.47) L/min] was significantly lower than that of the thoracolumbar scoliosis group [(50.81±10.11) L/min]. The average VO2AT/kg of the thoracic+ thoracolumbar scoliosis group [(14.16±2.04) ml/kg/min] was significantly lower than that of the thoracic scoliosis group [(16.82±2.87) ml/kg/min] and of the thoracolumbar scoliosis group [(17.78±4.34) ml/kg/min]. Among the thoracic scoliosis patients, no significant difference in exercise tolerance was observed between those with moderate and severe scoliosis. The peak VO2% pred was negatively correlated with BMI, but not significantly correlated with pulmonary function or age. Conclusions Although without pulmonary dysfunction, the AIS patients showed a significantly lower tolerance for maximum exercise generally. The average peak ME was significantly lower in the thoracic scoliosis group than in the thoracolumbar scoliosis group, while the average VO2AT/kg was significantly lower in the thoracic + thoracolumbar scoliosis group than in the solely thoracic and thoracolumbar scoliosis groups. Exercise tolerance was negatively correlated with BMI, but uncorrelated with the severity of the scoliosis, pulmonary function or age. Key words: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; Cardiopulmonary exercise testing; Body mass index