Pediatric Hip: Pearls and Pitfalls

Pediatric hip pathology varies depending on patient age. Newborns are often screened for developmental dysplasia of the hip, whereas toddlers and older children can present later with pain, leg length discrepancy, or limp. Young children may have hip pain related to transient synovitis, septic arthritis, or Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. Older children are more likely to suffer from slipped capital femoral epiphysis or apophyseal avulsion fractures. Knowledge about how the growing skeleton differs from adults as well as the classic imaging findings in many of these diagnoses is paramount when taking care of pediatric patients with suspected hip pathology.