ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF THE CARTILAGINOUS PATELLA IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS: A CASE SERIES

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Radiology
• Musculoskeletal Imaging
• Developmental Orthopedics

Background:

• Patellar abnormalities in infants often present before complete ossification.
• Diagnosing these conditions requires specialized imaging techniques.
• Ultrasonography offers a non-invasive method to assess the cartilaginous patella.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze cases of suspected patellar abnormalities in infants.
• To characterize the spectrum of abnormalities of the cartilaginous infantile patella using ultrasonography.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of ultrasonography reports for "patella" keyword.
• Inclusion of 12 patients with suspected abnormalities and a control group of 9 healthy infants.
• Ultrasonographic measurements of patellar diameter and Insall-Salvati index.

Main Results:

• Twelve pediatric patients (mean age 9 months) with suspected patellar abnormalities were identified.
• Common findings included patellar instability, hypoplasia, dislocation, subluxation, and agenesis.
• Significantly smaller craniocaudal diameters and altered Insall-Salvati indices were observed in affected patellas compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• Ultrasonography is valuable for characterizing cartilaginous patellar abnormalities in infants.
• Patellar instability and hypoplasia are the most frequent findings.
• This study provides Level IV evidence, indicating a case series.