1285 Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) and Maturation Of Hip Joint: Analysis in Unselected Italian Pediatric Population

Background Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) is an abnormal growth of the hip structures, regarding both osseous and soft tissues. While different factors are strongly associated and the overall frequency reported is between 1 and 5 cases per 1000, its aetiology and prevalence are not well established. Aim Aim of our study was to assess the relationship between the presence of hip ossification core and hip dysplasia and to evaluate the overall prevalence of this disorder among our population. Methods the same examinator performed hip ultrasonography (US) to all babies, using Graf method and a questionnaire about biological data was administered to all parents. Results 947 US were performed to all patients between the 2° and the 22° week of life (493 male, 454 female) 934 US were normal, 10 showed physiological hip immaturity, only 3 demostrated pathological hip conformation (2 with IIC grade and 1 with IV grade). The presence of hip ossification core doesn’t correlate with DDH, nutritional factors and fetal presentation but had a strong relationship with birth weight and female sex. Conclusions our data about the prevalence confirmed the previous results, (3.1/1000): The presense of hip ossification core is not related with DDH.