Exploring the impact of developmental dysplasia of the hip on refugees with temporary protected status in Türkiye

Objective: In this study, we examined whether there was a change in the number of children who had been screened by hip ultrasound, the age of first diagnosis, and the number of invasive and conservative treatments applied due to developmental dysplasia of the hip between 2016 and 2022 among refugees who were in "Temporary Protection Status" in Türkiye?

Methods: The records were collected via the e-health database of the Turkish Ministry of Health. Over 1 month old were included in the study.

Results: The number of ultrasonography (USG) that was performed for developmental dysplasia of the hip survey had significantly increased over time. The incidence for 5 years was 6 cases per 100 babies. However, the incidence of developmental dysplasia of the hip needing intervention was 0.4 cases per 1000 babies. In 2016, the most used diagnosis method was X-ray. By contrast, the use of USG has increased from 2016 to 2022. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was significantly high in 2016, 2017, and 2020. The number of invasive treatment modalities including closed reduction under anesthesia, open reduction alone, or open reduction with pelvic and/or femoral osteotomies had significantly decreased from 2016 to 2022. However, the number of abduction orthosis used for treatment also increased significantly.

Conclusions: Free access to health services is effective in promoting families' compliance with screening programs for developmental dysplasia of the hip. But is not enough for initial periods of mass migrations. To increase sensitivity to screening programs for possible diseases, further efforts are needed to prevent low compliance in early cases of mass migrations.