One-year follow-up ultrasonographic study of the subchondral bone surface of the distal femoral epiphysis in children aged 9–11 years

The aim of this study was to investigate the subchondral bone surface of the distal femoral epiphysis and monitor the morphologic changes on ultrasonography (US) in growing children. A total of 160 football players aged 9–11 years underwent ultrasonographic examination of both knees. The regularity of the subchondral bone surface of the femoral condyles was classified as grade 0 (smooth), 1 (focal semilunar depression or indentation) or 2 (broad irregularity). The relationship between age and frequency of irregularity was analyzed. Children with a grade 2 were referred for radiography and MRI to check for osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). All players underwent repeat examination 1 year later. On initial examination, 82/320 knees (25.6%) were categorized as grade 0, 237/320 (74.1%) as grade 1 and 1 (0.3%) as grade 2. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of increasing age with decreased irregularity of subchondral bone in the lateral and medial condyles (P = 0.019 and P
Source: Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics B - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Hip & Femur Source Type: research