Investigation of the irritable hip

The respective roles of conventional radiography, ultrasound scanning, and radionuclide scintigraphy in the investigation of 62 children with the irritable hip syndrome are compared. It is recommended that conventional radiography and ultrasound scanning be routinely performed, but scintigraphy should be reserved for those with positive findings on ultrasound, as an abnormal scintigram is unusual in the presence of a normal ultrasound scan.