What is the incidence of late detection of developmental dysplasia of the hip in England?: a 26-year national study of children diagnosed after the age of one

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to establish the incidence of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) diagnosed after one-year of age in England, stratified by age, gender, year, and region of diagnosis.

Patients and methods: A descriptive observational study was performed by linking primary and secondary care information from two independent national databases of routinely collected data: the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics. The study examined all children from 1 January 1990 to 1 January 2016 who had a new first diagnostic code for DDH aged between one and eight years old.

Results: The incidence of late-diagnosed DDH was 1.28 per 1000 live births. Within the study population, 754 children were identified with a diagnosis of DDH after one-year of age. Of all late diagnoses, 536 (71.1%) were detected between one to two years of age. There were 608 female patients (80.6%) and 146 male patients (19.4%), giving a female-to-male ratio of 4.2:1. Distribution was evenly spread throughout England.

Conclusion: The incidence of late-diagnosed DDH has not been reduced from that reported 35 years ago, prior to the introduction of the national selective screening programme for DDH. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:281-287.

Keywords: DDH screening; Developmental dysplasia of the hip; Late-diagnosed DDH; Selective screening programme.