Category: Ultrasound
Keywords: POCUS, Hip Effusion, MSK (PubMed Search)
Posted: 6/16/2025 by Alexis Salerno Rubeling, MD
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A hip effusion can cause pain with leg movement in both pediatric and adult patients.
A recent multicenter, prospective study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of POCUS performed by pediatric emergency physicians in detecting hip effusion.
They found that POCUS had a sensitivity of 89.3% (95% CI 80.6 to 95.0%) and specificity of 99.2% (95% CI 97.0 to 99.9%).
To scan the hip:
-Position the patient supine with the patient’s hip externally rotated.
-Place the probe transversely across the patient’s leg with the marker towards the patient’s right and scan proximally.
-Upon reaching the proximal femur, rotate the probe marker so it points towards the patient’s umbilicus.
-Look for an anechoic stripe at the femoral neck, preceding the femoral head.
An anechoic stripe measuring at least 5 mm in the anterior synovial space or an asymmetry exceeding 2 mm compared to the opposite, asymptomatic hip is diagnostic for hip effusion in BOTH pediatric and adult populations.
Jones RM, Malia L, Snelling PJ, Riera A, Mak W, Moote D, Brimacombe M, Chicaiza H. Diagnostic Accuracy of Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Hip Effusion: A Multicenter Diagnostic Study. Ann Emerg Med. 2025 Jun 7:S0196-0644(25)00279-3. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2025.04.033. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40481828.