Assessing and Treating Pediatric & Adolescent Scoliosis

John Emans, MD
Division of Spine Surgery,
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Children’s Hospital Boston
Harvard Medical School

Expiration Date: September 11, 2007

Program Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this program, participants should be able to:

• Describe the common type of pediatric and adolescent spinal deformity.
• Elaborate on methods used to diagnose and measure spinal deformity.
• Discuss the approaches used to treat spinal deformity resulting from each type of abnormal development.

This program is intended for:
Primary Care Physicians, Pediatricians, Pediatric Specialists, Pediatric Sub-specialists, Pediatric Nurses, Pediatric Pharmacists

Purpose Statement

Several systems for classifying adolescent idiopathic scoliosis have been developed. Evaluation includes physical examination, bending radiographs, MRI, and pulmonary function tests. Treatments vary depending on the type of scoliosis, but for patients with the most common type, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, they include observation for those with mild scoliosis, bracing for more severe curvature, and surgical intervention for the most severe. All physicians who care for children should test for scoliosis regularly and be aware of therapeutic options for patients who develop scoliosis.

Materials and Resources

• Online Course
• Coordinator Kit
• Request an Appointment with a Children’s Hospital Boston Specialist

Accreditation Statement:

Medical Education Solutions Group (MESG) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

MESG designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 category 1 credit per session towards the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.

Credit Designation

Nurses
Approved for 1.2 contact hours of continuing education for RNs, LPNs, LVNs, and NPs. This program is cosponsored with Medical Education Collaborative, Inc. (MEC) and Medical Education Solutions Group.  MEC is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.  Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 12990, for 1.2 contact hours.

Nurse Practitioners
MESG is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians, and will provide nurse practitioners who successfully complete the activity with a Statement of Participation indicating that the activity was designated for 1 AMA PRA category 1 credit.

For questions regarding the nursing or pharmacist accreditation, please contact Medical Educational Collaborative at 303.420.3252 or e-mail inquire@meccme.org.

System Requirements

Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® 98, NT, 2000, XP, ME

Browser/PDF Viewer
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® or Adobe Reader

Media Player
Windows Media® Player 7.1 or higher, OR
RealPlayer® Basic 8 or higher

Downloads/Upgrades
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Windows Media Player
RealPlayer
Adobe Reader

Connection Type
High bandwidth (300k) is strongly recommended
Low bandwidth (100k) results in less than optimal quality
56k dial-up/modem is not sufficient
The Frequently Asked Questions link (Getting Started section) provides additional information.

How to Receive CME/CE Credit

To earn CME/CE credit, please complete an initial online registration. Then view the activity and complete the evaluation and post-test, answering 70 percent of the post-test questions correctly.

Participants who mail or fax their evaluation and post-test should allow four to six weeks from receipt of forms for delivery of certificates. Please note that participants can only receive credit for viewing a session once.

Disclaimer

The information provided at this CME/CE activity is for continuing education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician relative to diagnostic and treatment options of a specific patient’s medical condition.

Faculty Disclosure
John Emans, MD
Unrestricted research support: Synthes, Medtronics

MESG Disclosure
The employees of Medical Education Solutions Group have no financial relationships to disclose.

MEC Disclosure
The employees of Medical Education Collaborative have no financial relationships to disclose.