Biometric Method for the Ossification Evaluation of Children from Birth Up to the Ages of Two and Four – Applied to the Metacarpal and Phalanxes in Spanish Longitudinal Series

Bernardo Ebri,Inmaculada Ebri

doi:10.7759/cureus.151

Abstract

Aim: This work, based on the Spanish longitudinal growth and development series done at the Andrea Prader Center, Zaragoza, Spain, studied children up to the age of twenty years. It aims to contribute to a practical and accurate numerical method to calculate the bone age of the studied children, from birth to two and four years. Methods: The total sample of the study was 160 healthy children (73 males and 87 females). Every child underwent annual radiography on his/her left hand at the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza, Spain. Using measurements of the Tanner II-Rus method, the maximum epiphyseal distances of the subjects were studied. Results: As a result, we have developed an index called the Metacarpal-Phalanx Index, closely correlated with the chronological age of the child, which creates bone age prediction equations. Another index called Index Valuation Ossification of the Metacarpal-Phalangeal, obtained through the above, allowed us to compare the results to Gaussian shape equivalences, thus revealing the ossifying status of the child, and whether it is late, early or insignificant.

Highlights

This work's main objective is to provide a numerical method to accurately calculate the bone age of children in the age groups from birth to two and to four years of age
This study is based on the Spanish longitudinal growth and development series, "Andrea Prader" [1], which assesses children from birth to twenty years
We measure the maximum distance from the nuclei of ossification and prepare them as average indices (Ebrí índices), designated as the "Indice Metacarpo-Falangico" (IMF) or "Metacarpal Phalangeal Index" and

Summary

Introduction

This work's main objective is to provide a numerical method to accurately calculate the bone age of children in the age groups from birth to two and to four years of age. The latter publication was better at this age for the predictive equations of general casuistry, relativizing the asynchrony of the nuclei of ossification, and avoiding overestimation of bone age that produced general equations when applied to children. In this present work with the metacarpal-phalangeal region, we wanted to provide the practical predictive equations for optimizing bone age prediction for these age groups

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion