Hip angles differ in premature infants before, after 44 weeks corrected gestational age
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CHICAGO — Results presented here showed premature infants at high risk for developmental dysplasia of the hip had lower alpha angles and higher beta angles when screened before 44 weeks corrected gestational age.
“Our study demonstrates that there is a difference in the angles that you get when you screen a premature baby vs. a baby who is term,” Sheena C. Ranade, MD, assistant professor at Mount Sinai Hospital, told Healio about results presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. “Whether that has clinical significance is still to be determined, but it does highlight that we may not have set angles or defined angles for what we should use to characterize premature infants in their hip ultrasound.”
Ranade and colleagues retrospectively identified 264 premature infants who were at high risk for developmental dysplasia of the hip and who underwent hip ultrasound from January 2005 to July 2020.
Researchers found 80.6% of infants were screened before 44 weeks corrected gestational age and 19.4% of infants were screened after 44 weeks corrected gestational age. Results showed a significantly lower mean alpha angle in the right and left hips of infants screened before 44 weeks corrected gestational age, as well as a higher mean beta angle in the right and left hips. Researchers found a significantly higher mean percent coverage in the right hip among infants screened at or after 44 weeks corrected gestational age. The two groups had no differences in initiation of Pavlik harness or evidence of follow-up ultrasound, according to results.
“[These results] open an area of future study, not just for orthopedics but also for pediatric radiology, to look at how we do hip ultrasounds in younger babies and how we should be characterizing what is pathologic and what is normal,” Ranade said.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated April 8, 2022, to clarify the research was performed among premature infants.
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Rao M, et al. Paper 183. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. March 22-26, 2022; Chicago.
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