Epidemiology of developmental dysplasia of the hip at a tertiary hospital in Oman

Objectives: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is common in Oman in clinical practice, but the incidence in Oman is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and characteristic features of DDH in the Omani population managed at Khoula Hospital (KH). Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at KH, targeting all Omani pediatric patients who have been officially diagnosed with DDH between the periods from January 2009 to December 2019. The data were collected from the medical record system at the hospital and phone interviews with the patient's family to fill out the missed information. Results: The study included 795 DDH-diagnosed patients, out of which 652 (82.0%) were female and 143 (18.0%) were male, giving a ratio of 4.5:1. Bilateral DDH was diagnosed in 300 (37.7%) patients, left-sided DDH in 307 (38.6%), and right DDH in 188 (23.6%) patients. At least half of the DDH cases were 6 months old or younger at the first presentation to the hospital and 16.6% were diagnosed after the age of 18 months. Remarkably, at least one risk factor was present for 581 (73.1%) patients. The remaining patients had no risk factors for DDH at all. The prevalence of the first child in the family was 33.0% and oligohydramnios 10.9%. The estimated DDH incidence in this study is 1.05/1000 live births/year. Conclusion: Based on the national live births annual records from Oman National Center for Statistics and Information, this study estimated the DDH incidence to be 1.05/1000 live births. These findings cannot be generalized nationally as they are from a single center. We recommend conducting a multicenter prospective study to identify DDH incidence in Oman accurately. National guidelines and screening programs must be developed and executed for early detection and management.