The PhD defense will take place

Friday June 23rd, 2023
Time: 13.30
Place: Medicinerhuset, Aalborg University Hospital

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

About the PhD thesis

Screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) has been performed in the developed world for several decades. Initially the screening consisted of clinical examinations of hip stability, but with the introduction of hip ultrasound (US) in the 1980s, mass screening of DDH based on hip morphology was made possible.

The advent of US screening also introduced the question of which children should receive a hip US, launching a debate that is still on-going. Should they be referred for US based on a DDH risk assess-ment (selective screening) or should all children receive a hip US (universal screening)?

While universal screening has been pursued in some countries, to-day most screening programmes for DDH apply the selective screen-ing approach citing, among other issues, the increased financial cost of universal screening but also the need for specialised examiners to perform the US screening.

Over the years, evidence indicating an inadequacy of selective screening to reduce late diagnoses or ultimately surgical treatment for DDH, has been reported. Health policy makers are therefore left with the choice of either continuing a possible ineffective screening programme or to pursue universal screening, in a time where healthcare resources are becoming increasingly scarce.

The present thesis presents a possible middle-ground, by investigat-ing the pubo-femoral distance (PFD) as a more accessible US metric, allowing inexperienced US examiners to perform US screening, thus driving down the cost and personnel requirements of a universal US screening programme.