TY  - JOUR
T1  - Correspondence
AU  - Yawn, Barbara P.
AU  - Soucacos, Panayotis N.
AU  - Soucacos, Panayotis K.
AU  - Zacharis, Konstantinos C.
AU  - Beris, Alexandros E.
AU  - Xenakis, Theodore A.
Y1  - 1998/08/01
N1  - 
JO  - The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
SP  - 1244
EP  - 1244
VL  - 80
IS  - 8
N2  - 
    I read with great interest "School-Screening for Scoliosis. A Prospective Epidemiological Study in Northwestern and Central Greece" (79-A: 1498—1503, Oct. 1997), by Soucacos et al. The size of the cohort is very large and the immediate follow-up is complete. However, the cost analysis appears to be incomplete (and similar to analyses done previously by proponents of school-based screening programs1). The authors commented that the cost for the entire program was only about $25,000, which mainly reflected the cost of transportation. This is not comparable with the costs that would be associated with actual school-based screening programs. For example, the initial screening of 82,901 children resulted in the rescreening of 5803 children by the senior staff, but all of these examinations were done at no charge. In addition, 4185 children were sent for radiographic evaluation, but the cost of the radiographs does not appear to have been considered in the cost assessment. Even if one assumes a very modest estimate of $100 per radiograph, the expenditure would have been $418,500 for radiographs alone. The induced costs of medical care also were not considered in the analysis. The authors advised the 1347 children who had a curve of 1 to 9 degrees to have a clinical evaluation every year and advised the 1255 children who had a curve of 10 to 19 degrees to have such an evaluation every four to six months. The cost of all of these examinations should have been included in the analysis as they were induced by the screening process.

SN  - 0021-9355
M3  - doi: 
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ER  -