Treatment of bracing for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients: a meta-analysis

Purpose A meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of bracing and other treatments in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for randomized controlled trials that investigated bracing and other treatments for AIS. The Mantel–Haenszel method with fixed-effects or random-effects model was used to calculate the relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The results of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were analyzed. Results Seven studies that met the eligibility criteria with 791 participants were included. The results of meta-analysis suggested significant differences between bracing and observation groups in successful outcomes [OR 3.58, 95% CI (1.92, 6.68), P