[Incidence of congenital orthopaedic defect in the martin district (longitudinal survey).]

The authors submit a model of the detection rate, monitoring and treatment of inborn defects of the locomotor system used in the Martin district. During the investigation period from 1972 - 1994 they examined and processed data from 41 281 neonates, i. e. 99,2 % of the total number of liveborn infants in the Martin district, focused specially on the hip joint and inborn defects of the foot. As to clinical symptoms of dysplasia coxae congenita they ascribe the greatest diagnostic value to Ortolani's phenomenon and abduction restricted to less than 60 degrees, which was recorded in 82 % and 52 % of the examined infants resp. As revealed by the incidence of dysplasia and dislocation in different periods, the introduction of preventive and therapeutic measures in the early neonatal stage had an unequivocal positive effect on the incidence of dysplasia and dislocation. The incidence of inborn defects of the foot was on a constant level during the investigation period. The authors did not record a significant coincidence of inborn defects of the foot and dysplasia of the hip joint in the investigated group, which is consistent with data in the literature. In the conclusion the authors emphasize the importance of prevention in the early neonatal age which leads to a reduction of the number of severe secondary coxarthroses. Key words: dysplasia coxae congenita, luxatio coxae congenita, inborn defects of the foot, prevention.