Use of ultrasonography to evaluate early outcomes of reduction in developmental dysplasia of the hip

Objective: To compare pubo-femoral distance (PFD) in normal hips and those treated for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and to investigate the value of ultrasonography from the medial hip in early follow-up of dislocated DDH after reduction.

Materials and methods: This study included 58 infants (49 females) with DDH who presented with 65 dislocated hips (51 unilateral and 7 bilateral). Dislocation was treated by closed reduction for 53 and open reduction for 12 hips. Ultrasonography on the medial side of the hip was performed within 1-2 weeks and 4 weeks after reduction. The distance from the pubic bone to the femoral head (PFD) was measured to assess the reduction and stability of the femoral head and compared to that on the contralateral side (control) in cases of unilateral DDH.

Results: The PFD value for the normal group (2.9 ± 0.4 mm) was significantly less than that for the closed reduction group (4.9 ± 2.8 mm, P<0.001) and that for the open reduction group (4.4 ± 1.6 mm; P=0.02), but no difference in the PFD was observed between the closed reduction and the open reduction groups (P=0.73). Despite successful reduction, the PFD values in the successful reduction group remained higher than those of the normal hips.

Conclusion: PFD measurement by ultrasonography of the medial hip can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of reduction procedures in DDH. The clinical implications of post-reduction ultrasound evaluation in the diagnosis and long-term follow-up of outcomes require further research.