ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The object of this paper was to analyze the epidemiological factors that contribute to congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH) in our setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A comparative study of the obstetrical and perinatal risk factors of a series of 72 newborns with CDH was carried out. These newborns were compared with a sample of 973 healthy newborns. The following factors were analyzed: sex, birth weight, fetal posture, type of delivery, duration of the pushing stage of labor, family history, single or multiple birth, age of parents, firstborn status and season of birth using the Pearson Chi-square test for the qualitative variables and the Mann-Whitney U for the quantitative variables. RESULTS: A statistically significant values (p < 0.05) was found for: sex, fetal posture, type of delivery, firstborn status and month of birth. Forty-nine (68%) of the newborns with CDH had two or more of these risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: When encountering a female newborn, with a breech posture or distocic delivery, from a primipara mother and born in November, a more rigorous examination and follow-up of that newborn should be carried out in order to rule out this pathology.
