Diagnostic Efficacy of High-frequency Ultrasound (HFU) in Early Diagnosis of Congenital Hip Dysplasia.

Background: Hip dysplasia is one of the most prevalent disorders in children and one of the three primary congenital orthopedic deformities. Although there are numerous existing methods (e.g., CT, MRI and arthrography) for early identification of hip dysplasia, their diagnostic criteria differ widely. It is critical to establish a safe, accurate, and reliable way for early diagnosis and treatment of hip dysplasia.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of high-frequency ultrasound (HFU) for congenital developmental hip dysplasia and hip dislocation and to provide a reference for the early diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia in the future.

Methods: A total of 104 infants and children suspected of having congenital hip dislocation or developmental hip dysplasia admitted to our hospital from April 2019 to August 2022 were enrolled as study subjects. All the infants and children were subjected to HFU and X-ray examination in our hospital. The diagnostic efficacy of HFU for congenital hip dysplasia was observed using X-ray as the gold standard.

Results: HFU confirmed 79 cases of congenital hip dysplasia, while X-ray confirmed 71 cases. The sensitivity and specificity of HFU were 77.42% and 83.33%, respectively, in the diagnosis of congenital developmental hip dysplasia, 76.47% and 96.55% in the diagnosis of congenital hip dislocation, and 77.22% and 60% in the diagnosis of congenital hip abnormality, which is very close to the gold standard. According to statistics on infants and children, the majority of patients were girls, and the left joint was more likely to be affected.

Conclusion: HFU has excellent diagnostic efficiency for congenital developmental hip dysplasia and hip dislocation, which can be considered an early assessment method for congenital hip dysplasia in the future.