Dawaa Reference

Clinical reference

Scoliosis

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class LD70.00 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Screening for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK481744/

Verified against2 documents
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
  • Scoliosis - disease-level clinical article (scoliosis-clinical.txt)

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (3)

  • Most adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis do not have significant back pain from the curve itself
  • Many affected teens are otherwise very active, including athletes and cheerleaders
  • The adolescent idiopathic form is the commonest one in children, and it runs from age 10 to 18

Signs — what you find (2)

  • Exam should note rib prominence, waistline asymmetry, and uneven shoulder height, not just the spinal curve [spinal curvature]
  • Standing and forward-bending photographs help track progression and surgical outcome

Tests (5)

  • Formal evaluation uses standing coronal and sagittal x-rays plus left and right bending films
  • Risser classification, a marker of skeletal maturity, is worked out from the iliac crest on the coronal film
  • CT and MRI are not routinely needed for typical adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
  • Candidates for surgery are worked up beforehand with CBC, BMP, coagulation studies (INR/PTT), a urinalysis, plus a urine pregnancy test in females
  • Pulmonary function testing is also part of the work-up

If not this — what else fits (2)

  • Neurologic, neuromuscular, congenital, or syndromic causes of curvature must be excluded before calling it idiopathic
  • Idiopathic means the cause is unknown and specifically not syndromic, congenital or neuromuscular

SourceStatPearls "Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

A lateral curvature of the spine, most often idiopathic and picked up in adolescence; the GP's role is screening and referral to orthopedics for monitoring, bracing, or surgery — there is no drug treatment. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

A lateral curvature of the spine, most often idiopathic and picked up in adolescence; the GP's role is screening and referral to orthopedics for monitoring, bracing, or surgery — there is no drug treatment.

Cautions
  • Rapid curve progression, back pain (uncommon in idiopathic scoliosis and suggests another cause), associated neurological symptoms.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
  • RED FLAG - Must rule out non-idiopathic underlying causes such as neurologic, neuromuscular, congenital, or syndromic conditions.
  • RED FLAG - Complications of untreated or severe scoliosis include nerve damage, lumbar radiculopathy, and cardiac and pulmonary restriction.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.