Magnetically Controlled Growing Rod for Early-Onset Scoliosis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The goal of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the utilization of a magnetically controlled growing rod (MCGR) for the treatment of early-onset scoliosis based on eligible studies demonstrating efficacy.

Methods: Online electronic databases were searched to identify the eligible studies updated to April 2018 according to index words. Several studies in the literature that were relevant to the present analysis were also included. Mean difference or relative risk along with 95% confidence interval was used to analyze the main outcomes.

Results: Eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis with 186 patients in the MCGR group and 64 patients in the conventionally growing rod (CGR) group; 3 studies were case control studies, and 8 studies were self-control studies. The results indicated that MCGR had significantly decreased the Cobb angle and thoracic kyphosis and increased T1-T12 and T1-S1 distances. In addition, the incidence of complications after MCGR therapy was 0.37%. However, there was no significant difference in the change of Cobb angle and incidence of complications between the MCGR and CGR groups.

Conclusions: We demonstrated that MCGR significantly reduced the Cobb angle and thoracic kyphosis while markedly increasing T1-T12 and T1-S1 distances. However, a close comparison of MCGR with CGR reveals more high-quality randomized control trials with a larger sample size and long-term follow-ups are necessary to gather more robust evidence on the efficacy of MCGR for early-onset scoliosis.