Paesano P L, Vigone M C, Siragusa V, Chiumello G, Del Maschio A, Mora S
Department of Paediatrics, Scientific Institute H San Raffaele, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Pediatr Radiol. 1998 Aug;28(8):622-6. doi: 10.1007/s002470050432.
Conventional skeletal radiography is the standard technique for assessing skeletal age. However, radiography cannot demonstrate cartilage and is therefore of lesser value in infancy when the ossification centres are composed mainly of cartilage. By comparison, US clearly demonstrates cartilage and bone.
In the present study, we compared radiography and sonography for the assessment of skeletal age in neonates and infants.
Because delayed skeletal maturation is a feature of congenital hypothyroidism and assessment of skeletal age is routinely performed in our centre, we studied 55 hypothyroid infants (aged 7-66 days). AP radiographs and sonograms, acquired using high-frequency scanners, were obtained and dimensions of the distal femoral epiphyseal ossification centre (DFE) were compared.
Measurements of DFE by the two methods showed excellent correlation (R = 0.94, P = 0.0001). Radiographs did not demonstrate a DFE in 11 infants, and US did not show it in 6. In no infant did radiography demonstrate DFE not seen by US. Moreover, DFE dimensions on US were larger than those measured on radiographs. Infants with absent thyroid gland had a DFE significantly smaller than those infants with ectopic or normally placed glands (P < 0.001), on both radiographs and sonograms.
Our data suggest that sonography is a valid alternative to standard radiography for the assessment of skeletal age in infants.
传统的骨骼X线摄影是评估骨龄的标准技术。然而，X线摄影无法显示软骨，因此在婴儿期骨化中心主要由软骨组成时，其价值较小。相比之下，超声能清晰显示软骨和骨骼。
在本研究中，我们比较了X线摄影和超声在评估新生儿和婴儿骨龄方面的应用。
由于骨骼成熟延迟是先天性甲状腺功能减退症的一个特征，且我们中心常规进行骨龄评估，因此我们研究了55例甲状腺功能减退的婴儿（年龄7 - 66天）。获取使用高频扫描仪获得的前后位X线片和超声图像，并比较股骨远端骨骺骨化中心（DFE）的尺寸。
两种方法对DFE的测量显示出极好的相关性（R = 0.94，P = 0.0001）。X线片在11例婴儿中未显示DFE，超声在6例中未显示。在任何婴儿中，X线片均未显示出超声未见到的DFE。此外，超声测量的DFE尺寸大于X线片测量的尺寸。无论是X线片还是超声检查，甲状腺缺如的婴儿其DFE明显小于甲状腺异位或位置正常的婴儿（P < 0.001）。
我们的数据表明，超声是评估婴儿骨龄的一种有效的替代标准X线摄影的方法。
