Congenital dislocation of the hip an evaluation of neonatal diagnosis.

A survey of 23443 live births in the North Canterbury area has shown that the incidence of uncomplicated congenital dislocation of the hip was 2.65 per 1000 live births. That a positive family history and breech delivery are important factors in identifying the infant at risk was confirmed. In spite of the fact that routine neonatal examination of 5158 of the infants detected dislocation or instability of the hip in the neonatal period four times as frequently as in the remainder of the group, no evidence can be found to suggest that this achieved a reduction in the frequency of late diagnosed or missed cases.