Abstract
ObjectivesThis study aimed to verify if a significant difference exists between parameters in the early evaluation of normal and near-normal hip joints, to evaluate the influence of age and breed on the parameters, and to clarify the usefulness of a total score for differentiating between Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) grade A and B hips.MethodsA total of 231 dogs were classified according to whether they had FCI A or B hips at adulthood, with measurements obtained at 14–28 weeks of age. The total score was calculated by the summation of the following quantitative parameters: angle of subluxation (AS), angle of reduction (AR), laxity index (LI), and dorsal acetabular rim slope (DARS). Logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the probability of the study population to develop an FCI B hip based on the total score. This was repeated for the highest score in combination with the worst-rated hip and once more for breeds.ResultsNo correlation between age and the parameters was found in the cohort, or for FCI A and B. The values of all the parameters were significantly lower in the FCI A group than in the FCI B group (AR: 4.42° ± 6.0° vs 7.62° ± 7.2°; AS: 0.45° ± 1.9° vs 1.55° ± 3.8°; LI: 0.32 ± 0.1 vs 0.36 ± 0.1; DARS: 3.30° ± 1.8° vs 3.77° ± 1.9°; TS: 11.47 ± 8.3 vs 16.65 ± 10.9). Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers showed significant differences between parameters for both FCI grades. The range, where FCI A and B hips can be predicted on the basis of the total score, was different when assessed for the entire cohort, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers.Clinical significanceOur results show that even in normal and near-normal hips, the parameters significantly differed in the early evaluation. Moreover, cutoff values should be set for different breeds in the prediction of the FCI grade during early evaluation for a better breeding selection regarding canine hip dysplasia, one of the most common orthopedic diseases among large and giant breed dogs.
Highlights
Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is one of the most common non-traumatic orthopedic diseases in large and giant breed dogs [1,2]
No correlation between age and the parameters was found in the cohort, or for Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) A and B
The values of all the parameters were significantly lower in the FCI A group than in the FCI B group (AR: 4.42 ̊ ± 6.0 ̊ vs 7.62 ̊ ± 7.2 ̊; angle of subluxation (AS): 0.45 ̊ ± 1.9 ̊ vs 1.55 ̊ ± 3.8 ̊; laxity index (LI): 0.32 ± 0.1 vs 0.36 ± 0.1; dorsal acetabular rim slope (DARS): 3.30 ̊ ± 1.8 ̊ vs 3.77 ̊ ± 1.9 ̊; total score (TS): 11.47 ± 8.3 vs 16.65 ± 10.9)
Summary
Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is one of the most common non-traumatic orthopedic diseases in large and giant breed dogs [1,2]. Etiological roles for genetic and environmental factors have been described in the CHD literature Some influencing factors such as physical activity, dietary factors or body weight can be readily modulated by the owner [2,5,6,7,8,9], but not other factors such as an anomalous inclination of the dorsal acetabulum or hormonal influences [9,10,11,12,13]. EE enables decision making for early surgical preventive intervention in growing dogs [1,26,27,28,29] or for timely exclusion from breeding or training programs. The thresholds and breed variations of the parameters for the prediction of the final FCI score remain undefined [19,31]
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