Sameera Wijayawardhana¹, Viraj Bamunuarachchi², Christoper Gaskin³, Yasith Mathagasinghe⁴, Jerrad Fernando⁵, Pujitha Wickramasinghe ⁶
1- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
2- Changi General Hospital, Singapore
3- Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, United States
4- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Australia
5- Lady Ridgway Hospital for Children, Colombo, Sri Lanka
6- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Abstract Body
Introduction: The Greulich-Pyle(GP) atlas is widely used to assess skeletal age in children. It was developed using data from American-Caucasian children. The applicability of the GP method has been questioned in different populations. While it is widely used in local clinical context, the applicability for the Sri Lankan population has not been explored.
Objectives: This study was carried out as a pilot to assess the applicability of the GP atlas in Sri Lankan children.
Methods: Radiographs were obtained from patients between birth and 19 years from Lady Ridgway Hospital who underwent left hand AP view for non-metabolic causes. X-rays with fractures, diagnosed illnesses were excluded. Chronological age was calculated by the difference between the date of birth and the date of imaging. Skeletal age was estimated by using the GP atlas by two readers.
Results: Of the 50 X-rays (30 female, 20 male), the mean difference (Estimated age –chronological age) for males and females is 0.67 and -0.37 months, respectively . It suggests the atlas has underestimated the age in females and overestimated it in males. There was a strong correlation between chronological and estimated age (females: R2 = 0.96; males: R2 = 0.83). The interclass correlation was 0.97 , indicating excellent inter-rater reliability .
Conclusions: This pilot study provides preliminary evidence on the applicability of the GP atlas in Sri Lankan children. Although estimates differ, the study demonstrated a strong correlation between skeletal and chronological age. Larger, age-stratified studies across diverse Sri Lankan populations are warranted to confirm these findings.