SKELETAL AGE ASSESSMENT IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG-ADULTS - COMPARISON BETWEEN A NEWLY DEVELOPED SONOGRAPHIC METHOD AND CONVENTIONAL METHODS

Objective. To compare the performance of a new sonographic (US) method of bone age estimation with other methods currently in use. Design an d patients. One hundred and fifteen subjects underwent left hand/wrist radiography and US examination of the hip for bone age assessment. Fo r each patient, measurements of skeletal age were available based on G reulich-Pyle and Tanner and Whitehouse, the latter being presented in three subtypes (RUS, carpals, and B20) in addition to the US values. T o assess agreement between methods, each method was compared with ever y other method. Differences between calculated skeletal age and chrono logical age were assessed, and the sensitivity, specificity, and predi ctive values of each method computed. Results. Coupled B20/RUS values showed the best agreement, with 95% of observations within 2.45 years of each other, followed by carpals/B20, B20/GP, and GP/RUS. The US met hod agreed the least (difference of 4.19-5.13 years) with the other me thods. The US method provided 85.8% (US vs RUS) to 91.3% (US vs GP) co ncordant results in recognizing differences between skeletal and chron ological age, and showed a 72.5% sensitivity and a 56.8% specificity. Conclusion. Although the US method promises to permit a safe and cost- effective assessment of skeletal age, its low accuracy makes it curren tly unsuitable for clinical use.