ULTRASOUND COMPARED WITH RADIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT IN DEVELOPMENTAL DYSPLASIA OF THE HIP

Two hundred and seventy-two patients 'at risk' for hip dislocation und erwent ultrasound examination. From this group 60 patients had ultraso und evidence of DDH (developmental dysplasia of the hip). Thirty-eight of these were also assessed radiographically. The diagnosis of disloc ation was more accurate with sonography, where there was only one scan showing an equivocal dislocation (not dislocated on arthrography). On radiographic evaluation there were six cases of equivocal dislocation , and one case which was wrongly diagnosed as dislocation (dysplastic on sonography and arthrogram). A high level of agreement was found bet ween the two methods in the diagnosis of dysplastic and normal hips (8 8 and 86% respectively). In view of the advantages of sonographic eval uation of the dislocated and dysplastic hip: safe (no ionizing radiati on), dynamic and static assessment, accurate (prior to femoral epiphys is ossification) and non-invasive (compared with arthrogram), radiogra phic and arthrographic assessment of the hip has been largely abandone d in our practice.