Clinical screening for congenital dislocation of the hip.

The hips of 20,417 newborns were examined within the first three days after birth and at the age of two to three months, from 1985 to 1990. One hundred and twenty-four children had abnormal findings in one or both hips and treatment was instituted. After an average duration of follow-up of six years (range, four to nine years), 122 (98 per cent) of the children had normally developed hip joints. One child had unilateral deformity of the femoral head due to ischemia, and another had bilateral anteversion as the only abnormal finding. A survey of the medical records of the only orthopaedic clinic in Stara Zagora that has a pediatric ward in which patients with hip problems are managed revealed no cases of congenital dislocation of the hip diagnosed after the age of three months in the infants born from 1985 to 1990. Clinical screening for congenital dislocation of the hip was effective in this group of patients, and a good result was noted in all but two patients who were treated for such a dislocation. Thus, a screening program is of value in the examination of all infants.