[Determination of skeletal age using the Oxford Score in children with epiphyseolysis of the femur head].

Pelvis radiographs of 47 children with slipped capital femoral epiphyses (SCFE) and 24 without a hip disorder were reviewed in a retrospective study by four readers to determine the skeletal age by the Oxford method. 72% of the children suffering from SCFE had a body weight above the standard level but a normal body height at the time of diagnosis. The mean chronologic age was 3 years higher than the skeletal age determined by the Oxford-score. The linear regression analyses showed that children with SCFE have had a skeletal maturation delay in comparison with the normal group at the beginning of the age period in question. This deficiency became greater as chronologic age increased. All children with the SCFE disease showed a nearly uniform skeletal age clearly below the bone age standard irrespective of their chronologic age. These results, in connection with obesity in most cases, support the idea of hormonal disorders with delayed skeletal maturation development in the aetiology of SCFE disease.