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Newborn hip dysplasia screening guidelines need reassessment, finds study

The findings of a new study published in the British Journal of General Practice suggest national guidelines on newborn hip dysplasia screening need to be reassessed.

The single-centre 15-year observational cohort study assessed the value of the primary care six- to eight-week clinical hip examination for the diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

Over the study period, there were 70,071 infants who underwent the six- to eight-week clinical hip assessment. A total of 170 were referred, of whom, six were diagnosed with pathological DDH.

The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for the primary care hip assessment were 16.7 per cent, 99.8 per cent, 3.5 per cent and 100.0 per cent, respectively.

A multivariable model showed a positive Ortolani manoeuvre to be the sole independent predictor of instability at six to eight weeks.

The authors say the results demonstrate the limitations of the primary care newborn hip check and support the reassessment of the national guidelines for this aspect of the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination DDH screening programme.


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