[Value of ultrasonics in painful hip in children]

The authors report their experience concerning echography in 40 children. They emphasize its importance in the painful hip. All patients suffered with a painful limping with normal standard front and profile X-Rays. Echography appears to be a test both simple and reliable to discern synovial extravasation (no false positive). Yet, it is not able to predict the kind of effusion. More especially, echography is not limited to the very diagnosis of extravasation: in acute transient synovitis, it shows an enlargement of the joint cavity, with no effusion, giving evidence of the inflammatory synovial reaction, in arthritis, it allows a good survey, pointing out healing under treatment, persistent extravasation commanding iterative succions, and the coming out of an articular septation.