[Assessment of orthopedic and sonographic hip examinations in the first days after birth based on research conducted in neonatal units and outpatient clinics].

The authors evaluated conformity between clinical and sonographical examinations in diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The research was conducted on two groups of children: 750 newborn in neonatologic ward and 897 babies examined in outpatient clinic. The clinical signs of DDH was confirmed in 181 hips (12%) in the first group. The abnormality was sonographically detected only in 6 hips (0.4%). In the second group the orthopedic examination showed the signs of DDH in 101 hips (5.6%) and sonographic signs of DDH appeared in 54 hips (3%). It seems that clinical examinations of hip joints in newborn in the first days of life provides to many falsely positive diagnosis of DDH. Probably proper care spontaneously leads to normalization of the morphology of newborns' hip joint and eliminates the necessity of the treatment with the usage of abduction devices. Screening examination of newborn performed by neonatologist and the verification of such examinations conducted by the orthopedic surgeons in outpatient clinic seems to be the mean efficient enough in the prophylaxis of DDH.