[Radiographic study of the hip in infancy and early childhood]

Abstract

In the age of sonography, there is increasing disapproval of radiologic examination of the hip in infancy and early childhood. Justifiably, the sonogram has replaced the X-ray in many examinations of the hip joint in infants and small children, thus sparing them radiation exposure. It must be remembered, however, that sonography is primarily a screening method for detecting congenital hip dislocation and dysplasia in infancy. There is still no substitute for radiologic examination of hip joints which require treatment or have been treated. Performance of survey radiograms, and if necessary arthrography, with a specific diagnostic goal permits an interpretation of all pathomorphologic changes associated with hip dislocation in infancy and early childhood. There is no place for computerized tomography in this context. It is still impossible to predict the extent to which, in the future, magnetic resonance imaging, with new coil configurations and shorter examination times, will open a new chapter in hip joint examination.