Ultrasonographic assessment of bone maturity in newborns.
BACKGROUND
Traditionally, the bone maturity at birth has been estimated from the radiological presence and size of the ossified distal femoral epiphysis. This study was conducted in a search for a sonographic tool for the evaluation of neonatal bone maturity.


METHODS
We examined sonographically 256 neonates within 24 h of birth. Gestational ages ranged from 36 to 42 weeks (mean: 39.4; median: 40). Birth weights ranged from 1,945 to 5,000 g (mean: 3,175; median: 3,180). The distal femoral epiphysis was imaged on the coronal plane sonogram of the distal femur with the knee at 90 degrees flexion and the distal femoral epiphysis maximal height was recorded. The acetabulum was imaged using Graf's method in the coronal plane image and the acetabular diameter recorded.


RESULTS
It was found that plotting the distal femoral epiphysis against neonatal birth weight and gestational age provided a simple method for assessing the bone maturity. According to our study, a neonate can be regarded as bone maturity percentile X when plotting distal femoral epiphysis height or acetabulum diameter against birth weight and gestational age or when averaging the four readings.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest performing sonography of the distal femoral epiphysis as a bedside tool for the assessment of skeletal maturity in newborns.
Leshem
Eyal
E
Pediatric Orthopedics Unit, Rambam Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Bialik
Viktor
V
Hochberg
Ze'ev
Z
D000077:Acetabulum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001724:Birth Weight; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004838:Epiphyses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014463:Ultrasonography