Bone of contention: The applicability of the Greulich–Pyle method for skeletal age assessment in South Africa

SA Journal of Radiology

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Bone of contention: The applicability of the Greulich–Pyle method for skeletal age assessment in South Africa
 
Creator Govender, Dashnee Goodier, Matthew
 
Subject radiology skeletal age; greulich and pyle Method; greulich and pyle atlas
Description Background: The Greulich–Pyle (GP) method is one of the most commonly used radiographic techniques for skeletal age (SA) determination. The applicability of this method for populations outside of the United States has been questioned and this has been investigated in several recent studies around the world. Only limited data are available on the accuracy of the GP method for a South African population. Objective: To determine the accuracy and reliability of the GP method in a population from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Method: A retrospective study was performed using a digital database consisting of 102 hand-wrist radiographs. The SA was estimated by two readers with different levels of experience, using the GP method. Differences between estimated SA and chronological age (CA) were analysed. Results: Skeletal age determined with the GP method was found to significantly differ from CA. For the population as a whole, the GP method underestimated age. The greatest mean underestimation between SA and CA was 11.5 ± 17 months and 7.4 ± 13.2 months for the 10.1 to 15 year age groups in male and female patients, respectively. The method was found to have excellent inter- and intra-observer reliability. Conclusion: The GP method generally significantly underestimates age for both genders. Overestimation is also possible with individuals as young as 16 years old found by the method to be skeletally mature. Until new SA assessment tools are developed for South Africa, use of supplementary means of determination of SA should be considered, especially in medico-legal cases.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2018-08-08
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — retrospective;quantitative
Format text/html application/epub+zip application/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajr.v22i1.1348
 
Source South African Journal of Radiology; Vol 22, No 1 (2018); 6 pages 2078-6778 1027-202X
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/article/view/1348/1912 https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/article/view/1348/1911 https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/article/view/1348/1913 https://sajr.org.za/index.php/sajr/article/view/1348/1905
 
Coverage South Africa; KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg January 2012-August 2016 age; gender
Rights Copyright (c) 2018 Dashnee Govender, Matthew Goodier https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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