Comparison of Bone Ages in Early Puberty: Computerized Greulich-Pyle Based Bone Age vs. Sauvegrain Method

PURPOSE: To compare the computerized Greulich-Pyle based bone age with elbow bone age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2126 patients (1525 girls; 601 boys) whose elbow bone age was within the evaluable range by the Sauvegrain method, and who simultaneously underwent hand radiography, were enrolled in the study. The 1st-bone age and VUNO score of the hand were evaluated using VUNOMed-BoneAge software. The correlation between the hand and elbow bone age was analyzed according to the child’s gender and the probability of 1st-bone age. RESULTS: The correlation between VUNO score and elbow bone age (r = 0.898) was higher than the correlation between 1st-bone age and elbow bone age (r = 0.879). Moreover, the VUNO score showed a better correlation with the elbow bone age in patients with a 1st-bone age probability of less than 70%, or in girls. Elbow bone age was more advanced compared to hand bone age, and this difference increased until the middle of puberty and gradually decreased in the latter half. CONCLUSION: The computerized Greulich-Pyle based hand bone age showed a significant correlation with the elbow bone age at puberty. However, since the elbow bone age tends to advance faster than the hand bone age, caution is required while judging the bone age during puberty.