Determination of skeletal maturity by ultrasound: a preliminary report

Objective Replacement of radiography by sonography for determination of skeletal maturity.Design Sonographic and radiographie evaluation of the maturation of the iliac bone apophysis (Risser's sign) and evaluation of the distal radial epiphyses.Patients 64 children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis, aged from 5 to 19 years.Results Sonograms with corresponding radiographs were available for the hand and wrist in 36 cases and for the iliac bone in 28 cases. Comparison of sonographic with radiological data revealed sonography to have a sensitivity for qualifying the status of the distal radial epiphysis of 93.1%. Specificity was 100%, accuracy 94.4% for investigation of the distal radial epiphysis. Overall accuracy for correct determination of Risser's stage by ultrasound (in comparison with the radiographie standard) was 89.2%.Conclusions These findings suggest that ultrasound is a useful and highly acceptable tool for bone age determination in clinical routine or screening studies and will help to reduce ionizing radiation to children and adolescents.Scientific Award in Pédiatrie Orthopaedics 1995 of the German- Austrian-Swiss Ped. Orthopaedic Association