Effectiveness of different types of ultrasonography screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Infant hip screening for early detection of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is essential as early detection can enable less invasive treatments and achieve better long-term results. A previous meta-analysis assessed about 10,000 infants per group, which is insufficient for evaluating the effect of different infant hip screening strategies on early detection and treatment of DDH. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using both randomized controlled trials and cohort studies to determine the effects of universal hip ultrasonography screening (UHUS) and selective hip ultrasonography screening (SHUS) on the incidence of late-diagnosed DDH. METHODS: A literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases was performed. The summary odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using fixed-effects models. RESULTS: Meta-analysis of five studies that met the eligibility criteria revealed a significant difference in late-diagnosed DDH (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.23–0.83) between infants screened using UHUS (n = 29,070) and those screened using SHUS (n = 30,442) in a fixed-effects model without heterogeneity among studies. In the subgroup analysis, meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials showed no significant difference in late-diagnosed DDH (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.20–1.39) between infants screened using UHUS (n = 11,453) and those screened using SHUS (n = 12,077) in a fixed-effects model with low heterogeneity among studies (I(2) = 0.9%). However, meta-analysis of the cohort studies showed a significant difference in late-diagnosed DDH (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.17–0.89) between infants screened using UHUS (n = 17,617) and those screened using SHUS (n = 18,345) in a fixed-effects model with low heterogeneity among studies. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the impact of each study on the summary results was not significant. There was no publication bias in our meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of late-diagnosed DDH is possible when UHUS is adopted compared with SHUS. Our study provides information about the effects of different infant hip screening strategies on the incidence of late-diagnosed DDH, which can help decide upon which strategy to apply.