Delayed diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip in Northern Ireland

The Impact of Focused Hip Ultrasound Training on Imaging Quality in Infants With Hip Dysplasia

BACKGROUND

The orthopedic department at Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital (AJCH) was opened in April 2018. A focused hip ultrasound training course was conducted in April 2019 to improve hip ultrasound imaging quality.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the impact of focused training courses on predefined image quality criteria of infant hip ultrasound in the context of developmental hip dysplasia. It also seeks to measure the inter- and intra-rater agreement among various disciplines.

METHODS

A retrospective review of 120 hip ultrasound images (60 infants) was performed between April 2018 and April 2020. Based on internationally agreed criteria, 60 hip images obtained before the course were compared to another 60 hip images obtained after the course. Inter-rater and intra-rater agreements were also evaluated using intraclass correlation (ICC).

RESULTS

The study evaluated the impact of a focused training course on the quality of infant hip ultrasound images for developmental dysplasia of the hip. Image quality significantly improved after the training, with optimal images increasing from 48% to 82% (P<0.001). Logistic regression confirmed the training's positive effect, highlighting its clinical and statistical significance. The study has also demonstrated excellent agreement among raters for alpha and beta angles, as reflected by ICC statistics. The agreement for alpha angles was notably higher than for beta angles (ICC 0.970 vs. 0.904; P<0.0001). However, inter-rater agreement for hip types, assessed using kappa statistics, was moderate (κ = 0.512) and targeted to address a limited shortfall or gaps in services.

CONCLUSION

The study confirms the value of focused training in improving the quality of care. This training should be carefully planned and targeted to address limited shortfalls or gaps in services in other areas of service delivery.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

The study is a retrospective cohort with evidence level II.

Prevalence and radiological definitions of acetabular dysplasia after the age of 2 years: a systematic review

Acetabular dysplasia is one of the most common causes of early hip osteoarthritis and hip replacement surgery. Recent literature suggests that acetabular dysplasia does not always originate at infancy, but can also develop later during childhood. This systematic review aims to appraise the literature on prevalence numbers of acetabular dysplasia in children after the age of 2 years. A systematic search was performed in several scientific databases. Publications were considered eligible for inclusion if they presented prevalence numbers on acetabular dysplasia in a general population of healthy children aged 2-18 years with description of the radiological examination. Quality assessment was done using the Newcastle-Ottawa score. Acetabular dysplasia was defined mild when: the center-edge angle of Wiberg (CEA-W) measured 15-20°, the CEA-W ranged between -1 to -2SD for age, or based on the acetabular index using thresholds from the Tönnis table. Severe dysplasia was defined by a CEA-W < 15°, <-2SD for age, or acetabular index according to Tönnis. Of the 1837 screened articles, four were included for review. Depending on radiological measurement, age and reference values used, prevalence numbers for mild acetabular dysplasia vary from 13.4 to 25.6% and for severe acetabular dysplasia from 2.2 to 10.9%. Limited literature is available on prevalence of acetabular dysplasia in children after the age of 2 years. Prevalence numbers suggest that acetabular dysplasia is not only a condition in infants but also highly prevalent later in childhood.

Risk factors for a false negative Ortolani and Barlow examination in developmental dysplasia of the hip

INTRODUCTION

Although universal screening by neonatal clinical examination with Ortolani and Barlow manoeuvres is widely adopted, its role as a sole screening tool is controversial due to its poor sensitivity and failure in identifying hip joints that eventually require surgical intervention.

HYPOTHESIS

This study aims to identify risk factors for a false negative Ortolani and Barlow examination in neonatal screening for DDH. The hypothesis is that risk factors for developmental dysplasia of the hips could similarly be risk factors for a false negative Ortolani and Barlow examination.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In the 14-year retrospective cohort study, all newborn infants born in a single institution from 1st January 1999 to 31st December 2013 were screened clinically with the Ortolani/Barlow manoeuvre by a neonatologist. Infants with positive risk factors, despite a normal clinical examination, were then scheduled for bilateral hip ultrasound in the first three months of life and evaluated according to the Graf's method, Harcke's method of dynamic ultrasound screening and Terjesen's method of evaluation for femoral head coverage.

RESULTS

A total of 164 infants with normal Ortolani and Barlow examinations were scheduled for bilateral hip ultrasound due to the presence of risk factors. Amongst these, 32 (19.5%) infants were evaluated to have an abnormal hip on ultrasound. Breech position was the only statistically significant risk factor for a false negative Ortolani/Barlow examination (14/34, 41.2% vs. 18/112, 13.8%; p<0.001).

DISCUSSION

Sonographic hip examinations are recommended for all infants with breech presentation even if they have a normal Ortolani and Barlow examination.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III; case-control study.

Acetabular index as an indicator of Pavlik harness success in grade I developmental dysplasia of the hip: A retrospective study

Purpose

Some articles have focused on the effectiveness of the Pavlik harness treatment for unstable and dislocated hips, yet data on monitoring its effectiveness with the acetabular index remains elusive. Therefore, this study aimed to assess Pavlik harness effectiveness in infants ≤6 months diagnosed with grade I developmental dysplasia of the hip using acetabular index improvement and identify the possible predictors of successful Pavlik harness treatment.

Methods

A retrospective review of infants with grade I acetabular dysplasia treated with a Pavlik harness and monitored with anteroposterior pelvis X-rays at presentation and follow-up. Successful treatment was defined as achieving an acetabular index <30°.

Results

A total of 231 infants with acetabular dysplasia were treated with a Pavlik harness. A successful outcome was achieved in 135 infants (58.4%). Younger age, lower initial acetabular index, and patients with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip were significant predictors of a successful outcome. An age of 4.5 months or older was found to be the threshold for an unsuccessful result following Pavlik harness treatment, with a sensitivity of 65.2% and specificity of 57.3%. An initial acetabular index of 35.5° was found to be the threshold for an unsuccessful result, with a sensitivity of 83.7% and specificity of 61.5%.

Conclusion

Pavlik Harness's success in correcting the acetabular index in acetabular dysplasia patients was related to unilateral cases, a younger age at presentation, and a lower initial acetabular index. The thresholds for unsuccessful treatment were an age of 4.5 months or greater and an acetabular index of 35.5° or higher.

Evaluation of mechanistic serum and urine biomarkers for secondary osteoarthritis associated with developmental dysplasia of the hip

Objective

Determine measurable differences for mechanistic urine and serum biomarkers in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) prior to, and following, secondary hip osteoarthritis (OA) when compared to controls.

Design

Urine and serum were collected from individuals with developmental dysplasia of the hip (n = 39), prior to (Pre-OA DDH, n = 32) and following diagnosis of secondary hip OA (Post-OA DDH, n = 7), age-matched Pre-OA controls (n = 35), and age-matched Post-OA controls (n = 12). Samples were analyzed for protein biomarkers with potential for differentiation of hip status through a Mann-Whitney U test with a Benjamini-Hochberg correction.

Results

Several interleukin and degradation related proteins were found to be differentially expressed when comparing DDH-related hip status prior to and following diagnosis of hip OA. In addition, MCP-1 and TIMP-1 were significantly different between younger and older patients in the control cohorts.

Conclusion

These results provide initial evidence for serum and urine protein biomarkers that define clinically relevant stages of symptomatic DDH and its progression to secondary hip osteoarthritis categorized by known mechanisms of disease.

Level of evidence

III.

A comparison of different selective ultrasound screening strategies for developmental dysplasia of the hip

To analyze whether the addition of risk-based criteria to clinical examination-based selective ultrasound screening would increase the rates of early detected cases of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and decrease the rate of late detected cases. A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed. The initial search was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases in November 2021. The following search terms were used: (hip) AND (ultrasound) AND (luxation or dysplasia) AND (newborn or neonate or congenital). A total of 25 studies were included. In 19 studies, newborns were selected for ultrasound based on both risk factors and clinical examination. In six studies, newborns were selected for ultrasound based on only clinical examination. We did not find evidence indicating that there are differences in the incidence of early- and late-detected DDH, or in the incidence of nonoperatively treated DDH between the risk-based and clinical examination-based groups. The pooled incidence of operatively treated DDH was slightly lower in the risk-based group (0.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.3 to 0.7)) compared with the clinical examination group (0.9 per 1,000 newborns, (95% CI 0.7 to 1.0)). The use of risk factors in conjunction with clinical examination in the selective ultrasound screening of DDH might lead to fewer operatively treated cases of DDH. However, more studies are needed before stronger conclusions can be drawn.

Universal screening may reduce the incidence of late diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip : a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

We investigated the prevalence of late developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), abduction bracing treatment, and surgical procedures performed following the implementation of universal ultrasound screening versus selective ultrasound screening programmes.

METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, OrthoSearch, and Web of Science from the date of inception of each database until 27 March 2022 was performed. The primary outcome of interest was the prevalence of late detection of DDH, diagnosed after three months. Secondary outcomes of interest were the prevalence of abduction bracing treatment and surgical procedures performed in childhood for dysplasia. Only studies describing the primary outcome of interest were included.

RESULTS

A total of 31 studies were identified, of which 13 described universal screening and 20 described selective screening. Two studies described both. The prevalence of late DDH was 0.10 per 1,000 live births (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00 to 0.39) in the universal screening group and 0.45 per 1,000 live births (95% CI 0.31 to 0.61) in the selective screening group. Abduction bracing treatment was performed on 55.54 per 1,000 live births (95% CI 24.46 to 98.15) in the universal screening group versus 0.48 per 1,000 live births (95% CI 0.07 to 1.13) in the selective screening group. Both the universal and selective screening groups had a similar prevalence of surgical procedures in childhood for dysplasia being performed (0.48 (95% CI 0.32 to 0.63) vs 0.49 (95% CI 0.31 to 0.71) per 1,000 live births, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Universal screening showed a trend towards lower prevalence of late DDH compared to selective screening. However, it was also associated with a significant increase in the prevalence of abduction bracing without a significant reduction in the prevalence of surgical procedures in childhood for dysplasia being performed. High-quality studies comparing both treatment methods are required, in addition to studies into the natural history of missed DDH.Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(2):198-208.

Comparison of Transfer Learning Models in Pelvic Tilt and Rotation Measurement in Pediatric Anteroposterior Pelvic Radiographs

The rotation and tilt of the pelvis during anteroposterior pelvic radiography can lead to misdiagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in children. At present, no method exists for accurately and conveniently measuring the precise rotation and tilt angles of pelvic on radiographs. The objective of this study was to develop several rotation and tilt measurement models using transfer learning and digital reconstructed radiographs (DRRs), and to compare their performances on pelvic radiographs. Based on the inclusion criteria, 30 of 92 children who underwent 3D hip CT scans at Xijing Hospital from 2015 to 2020 were included in the study. Using DRR techniques, radiographs were generated by rotating and tilting the pelvis in CT datasets at - 12 to 12° (projected every 3°) and were randomized to a 2:1:1 ratio of training dataset, validation dataset, and test dataset. Five pre-trained networks, including VGG16, Xception, VGG19, ResNet50 and InceptionV3 were used to develop pelvic rotation measurement models and tilt measurement models, and these models were trained with training dataset. The callback function was used during the training to slow down the learning rate when learning was stalled. Then, the validation set was used to optimize each model and compare their performances. At last, we tested the final performances of optimal rotation measurement model and optimal tilt measurement model on test dataset. The mean absolute error (MAE) was employed to assess the performance of the models. A total of 2430 pelvic DRRs were collected based on 30 CT datasets. Among 5 pre-trained transfer learning models, VGG16-Tilt achieved the best tilt prediction performance at the same BS and different LR. VGG16-Tilt model achieved its best performance on validation set at LR = 0.001 and BS = 4, and the final MAE on the test set was 0.5250°. In terms of rotation prediction, VGG16-Rotation also achieved the best performance, and it achieved its best performance on validation set at LR = 0.002 and BS = 8. The final MAE of VGG16-Rotation on the test set was 1.0731°. Pretrained transfer learning models worked well in predicting tilt and rotation angles of the pelvis on radiographs in children. Among them, VGG16-Tilt and VGG16-Rotation had the best effect in dealing with such problems despite their simple structures. These models deployed in devices can give orthopedic surgeons a powerful aid in DDH diagnosis.

Incidence of Neonatal Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip and Late Detection Rates Based on Screening Strategy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE

Universal ultrasonographic screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) has gained increasing popularity despite the lack of benefit in terms of reducing the rates of late-detected cases (age ≥12 weeks) in randomized clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE

To report the reported incidence of DDH in the English scientific literature and compare rates of late-detected cases in settings with different DDH screening strategies.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched on November 25 and 27, 2021. No time filters were used in the search.

STUDY SELECTION

All observational studies reporting the incidence of early-detected or late-detected (age ≥12 weeks) DDH were included. Non-English reports were excluded if the abstract did not include enough information to be included for analysis.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

The number of newborns screened and the detection rates were extracted. Meta-analysis calculated the pooled incidence of DDH per 1000 newborns with 95% CIs using a random- or fixed-effects model. This study is reported according to the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The main outcome measures were early detection, early treatment, late detection, and operative treatment incidences.

RESULTS

A total of 1899 studies were identified, 203 full texts were assessed, and 76 studies with 16 901 079 infants were included in final analyses. The early detection rate was 8.4 (95% CI, 4.8-14.8) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with clinical screening, 4.4 (95% CI, 2.4-8.0) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with selective ultrasonographic screening, and 23.0 (95% CI, 15.7-33.4) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with universal ultrasonographic screening. Rates for nonoperative treatment were 5.5 (95% CI, 2.1-14) treatments per 1000 newborns with clinical screening, 3.1 (95% CI, 2.0-4.8) treatments per 1000 newborns with selective ultrasonographic screening, and 9.8 (95% CI, 6.7-14.4) treatments per 1000 newborns with universal ultrasonographic screening. The incidence of late-detected DDH was 0.5 (95% CI, 0.2-1.5) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with clinical screening, 0.6 (95% CI, 0.3-1.3) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with selective ultrasonographic screening, and 0.2 (95% CI, 0.0-0.8) infants with DDH per 1000 newborns with universal ultrasonographic screening. The corresponding incidences of operative treatment were 0.2 (95% CI, 0.0-0.9) operations per 1000 newborns with clinical screening, 0.5 (95% CI, 0.4-0.7) operations per 1000 newborns with selective ultrasonographic screening, and 0.4 (95% CI, 0.2-0.7) operations per 1000 newborns with universal ultrasonographic screening.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This meta-analysis found that early detection rates and nonoperative treatments were higher with universal screening. The late detection and operative treatment rates with universal screening were similar to those among selectively and clinically screened newborns. Based on these results, universal screening may cause initial overtreatment without reducing the rates of late detection and operative treatment.

Application Value of Combined Diagnosis of Ultrasound, MRI, and X-Ray in Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip in Children

Objective

To explore the application value of the combined diagnosis of ultrasound, MRI, and X-ray in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in children.

Methods

Ninety children with suspected DDH admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to June 2020 were selected as the research objects to conduct a retrospective study. According to the age of the children, they were divided into a group with 0-6 months (group X), a group with 7-12 months (group Y), and a group older than 12 months (group Z), with 30 cases in each group. X-ray and high-frequency ultrasound were performed in all groups, and MRI examination was added to the children in groups Y and Z to compare the diagnostic value of the three imaging examinations in DDH children.

Results

No obvious differences in the general data and maternal risk factors were observed among the three groups (P < 0.05). The final comprehensive diagnostic results were taken as the gold standard, including 23 cases with acetabular dysplasia, 28 cases with subluxation of the femoral head, 31 cases with complete dislocation of the femoral head, and 8 non-DDH cases. The diagnostic accuracy of the three methods from high to low was MRI, high-frequency ultrasound, and X-ray, with obviously higher diagnostic accuracy of MRI than that of X-ray (P < 0.05). The ROC curves showed that the diagnostic efficacy from high to low was MRI + high-frequency ultrasound + X-ray, high-frequency ultrasound + X-ray, MRI, high-frequency ultrasound, and X-ray.

Conclusion

Ultrasound combined with X-ray has obvious advantages in the diagnosis of children at low months of age, while MRI has outstanding advantages in the diagnosis of children at high months of age. MRI combined with ultrasound and X-ray can significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy of DDH and provide objective data support for the clinical treatment of children.

Screening of Newborns and Infants for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Developmental dysplasia of hip (DDH) is a common disorder of childhood and has a good prognosis when treated at an early age. In spite of being a significant concern, many children with DDH are not picked early and present late at walking age. In our country, it is presumed to be due to absence of a national policy for screening of DDH. Screening programmes including the combination of clinical and radiological methods in different ways have been suggested. However, the exact method of screening is controversial.

PURPOSE

To analyze effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various screening methods for DDH.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

This review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Medline database was explored for original case series and randomized clinical trials. Inclusion criteria were English language, screening for DDH in neonates, sample size more than 500, and studies with minimum duration of one year.

RESULTS

Thirty-four studies were selected to write the manuscript. This included 23 studies looking for effectiveness of a screening programme and 11 studies comparing various outcomes of different screening strategies. A trend favoring universal ultrasound screening was observed.

CONCLUSION

The literature supports universal ultrasound screening and has proved its cost-effectiveness. However, considering the logistic and financial challenges in our country, immediate implementation of universal ultrasound screening seems impractical. In the absence of any current guidelines for screening for DDH in India, we suggest professional organizations involved in the care of children and public health policy-makers to come together to develop national screening guidelines for DDH.

Monitoring of a hip surveillance programme protects infants from radiation and surgical intervention

AIMS

To monitor the performance of services for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in Northern Ireland and identify potential improvements to enhance quality of service and plan for the future.

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study, involving all infants treated for DDH between 2011 and 2017. Children underwent clinical assessment and radiological investigation as per the regional surveillance policy. The regional radiology data was interrogated to quantify the use of ultrasound and ionizing radiation for this population.

RESULTS

Evidence-based changes were made to the Northern Ireland screening programme, including an increase in ultrasound scanning capacity and expansion of nurse-led screening clinics. The number of infant hip ultrasound scans increased from 4,788 in 2011, to approximately 7,000 in 2013 and subsequent years. The number of hip radiographs on infants of less than one year of age fell from 7,381 to 2,208 per year. There was a modest increase in the treatment rate from 10.9 to 14.3 per 1,000 live births but there was a significant reduction in the number of closed hip reductions. The incidence of infants diagnosed with DDH after one year of age was 0.30 per 1,000 live births over the entire period.

CONCLUSION

Improving compliance with the regional infant hip screening protocols led to reduction in operative procedures and reduced the number of pelvic radiographs of infants. We conclude that performance monitoring of screening programmes for DDH is essential to provide a quality service. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(4):495-500.

Profile of Patients Diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Objective  To describe the profile of patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) diagnosed by physical and ultrasound examination, with the implementation of a protocol for the treatment and follow-up of DDH.

Methods  A cross-sectional study with DDH patients born between January 2014 and December 2016, in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Ethnicity, gender, birth weight, fetal presentation, affected side of the hip, gestational age, maternal age and family history were considered. The data on the medical records were compared with the characteristics of the general population described on the Brazilian National Information System on Live Births (Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos [SINASC]).

Results  A total of 33 DDH patients were identified, mostly female, with a four-fold higher probability of having the condition ( p  < 0.001); the left was the most affected side. No statistically significant association was found regarding the following factors: birth weight, gestational age, ethnicity, and maternal age. The newborns in breech presentation had a 15-fold higher probability of presenting DDH ( p  < 0.001). A total of 21 newborns required immediate treatment of the hips, since the ultrasound showed a Graf classification of IIb or higher, or the radiography showed dislocation in DDH patients older than 6 months of age.

Conclusion  Screening for DDH is essential in all newborns; physical examinations revealing alterations must be complemented with ultrasound imaging to avoid the delayed diagnosis of the condition.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip: why are we still operating on them? A plea for institutional newborn clinical screening

INTRODUCTION

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common orthopaedic condition at birth. Non-surgical management with the Pavlik harness can effectively treat DDH in the newborn by providing an early clinical diagnosis, but open surgeries continue to be performed. We aimed to elucidate the reasons for this.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed of all open surgeries related to DDH from 2006 to 2016. Patients were either born at our institution (Group 1) or outside of it (Group 2). All Group 1 newborns were routinely screened for DDH at birth.

RESULTS

27 patients (Group 1: n = 5, Group 2: n = 22) presented at age 25 ± 19 months. Left-sided DDH (n = 21, 77.8%) and female infants (n = 22, 81.5%) were more common. The mean age at surgery was 40 ± 31 months. The most commonly performed procedure was soft tissue release open reduction with acetabuloplasty (n = 20, 74.1%). Gender, site, median age at presentation and at surgery, and prevalence of risk factors were similar for both groups. Both groups were mostly made up of late presenters (> 3 months; p = 0.34). A few patients had undergone prior treatment (p = 0.64). Newborn screening was the only significantly different variable between the groups (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Lack of institutionalised newborn clinical screening appears to be the root cause of late presentation of DDH leading to open surgery for its management. We recommend quality institutionalised newborn clinical screening to reduce the number of late presentations.

Clicky hip alone is not a true risk factor for developmental dysplasia of the hip

AIMS

A clicky hip is a common referral for clinical and sonographic screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). There is controversy regarding whether it represents a true risk factor for pathological DDH. Therefore a 20-year prospective, longitudinal, observational study was undertaken to assess the relationship between the presence of a neonatal clicky hip and pathological DDH.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 362 infants from 1997 to 2016 were referred with clicky hips to our 'one-stop' paediatric hip screening clinic. Hips were assessed clinically for instability and by ultrasound imaging using a simplified Graf/Harcke classification. Dislocated or dislocatable hips were classified as Graf Type IV hips.

RESULTS

The mean age at presentation was 13.8 weeks (12.8 to 14.7). In all 351 out of 362 children (97.0%) had Graf Type I hips (normal) that required no treatment. Nine children (2.5%) had Graf Type II hips but all resolved to Graf Type I hips on follow-up scans. One child (0.3%) had Graf Type III hip dysplasia and one child (0.3%) had an irreducible hip dislocation. The two pathological hips were associated with unilateral limited hip abduction. Mean referrals increased from 12.9 to 23.3 each year (p = 0.002) from the first decade of the study to the second, driven by increasing primary care referrals (5.5 versus 16.7 per year, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Most clicky hips required no treatment other than reassurance to parents. Clicky hips with a normal hip examination should be considered a variant of normal childhood and not a risk factor for DDH. However, an abnormal hip examination including unilateral limited hip abduction should prompt urgent further investigations. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1533-6.

Late presentation of developmental dysplasia of the hip

Aims

Despite the presence of screening programmes, infants continue to present with late developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), the impact of which is significant. The aim of this study was to assess infants with late presenting dislocation of the hip despite universal clinical neonatal and selective ultrasound screening.

Patients and Methods

Between 01 January 1997 to 31 December 2011, a prospective, longitudinal study was undertaken of a cohort of 64 670 live births. Late presenting dislocation was defined as presentation after three months of age. Diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasound and plain radiography. Patient demographics, referral type, reason for referral, risk factors (breech presentation/strong family history) and clinical and radiological findings were recorded.

Results

There were 31 infants with an irreducible dislocation of the hip, an incidence of 0.48 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34 to 0.68) per 1000 live births. Of these, 18 (0.28 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.44) per 1000 live births; 58%) presented late. All infants had a documented normal newborn clinical examination and no abnormality reported in the six to eight week check. Of the 18 late presenting cases 72% (n = 13) had no risk factors: 16 were referred by GPs and two were late due to administrative issues (missed appointments). The mean time to diagnosis was 62.4 weeks (19 to 84).

Conclusion

Despite universal clinical neonatal and selective ultrasound screening, late cases of irreducible hip dislocation still occur. We recommend an update of the national screening programme for DDH, a review of training and education of healthcare professionals involved in the physical examination of neonates and infants, and the addition of a further assessment after the six to eight week check. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1250–5.

Exploring the experiences of parents caring for infants with developmental dysplasia of the hip attending a dedicated clinic

Specialised DDH (developmental dysplasion of the hip) clinics are developing around Ireland but are, however, variable in how they are operated. A DDH clinic was set up in the South-east of Ireland in 2002 with the goal of achieving an integrated care pathway between the orthopaedic surgical team and nursing team, working to an explicit protocol while also fostering a strong collaboration with the ultrasound department. This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of this dedicated clinic in the Southeast of Ireland.

Serum prolidase activity and oxidative-antioxidative status in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip and its relationship with radiographic severity

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate serum prolidase activity and to investigate its association with oxidative-antioxidative status in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

METHODS

Oxidative status parameters, including lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH), total oxidant status (TOS), and the oxidative stress index (OSI), and antioxidative status parameters, free sulfhydryl groups (Total -SH), and total antioxidative capacity (TAC), as well as serum prolidase activity were assessed in patients with DDH (n = 93), and in healthy controls (n = 82). The severity of dysplasia was evaluated according to the Tonnis grading system.

RESULTS

Serum prolidase activity and the oxidant parameters (LOOH, TOS, and OSI) were significantly higher and the antioxidant parameters (Total -SH and TAC) were significantly lower in patients with DDH compared to the controls (P < 0.005 for all). Serum prolidase activity was positively correlated with the Tonnis grade of DDH and LOOH, TOS, and OSI levels (P < 0.001 for all), but inversely correlated with total -SH and TAC levels (P < 0.001 for all).

CONCLUSION

Increased levels of serum prolidase activity, LOOH, TOS, and OSI, and decreased levels of total -SH and TAC, may be associated with DDH, and these parameters may be useful adjunctive tools to assess the severity of DDH.