Discrepancies between repeated measurements were expressed as data differences. The "limits of agreement" of data differences, i.e. the mean +2 SD and the mean -2 SD, ranged from -0.26 to +0.22 mm and from -0.56 to +0.48 mm for the interobserver analysis of the femoral head cartilage (FHC) and femoral condylar cartilage (FCC), respectively. The "limits of agreement" for the intraobserver analysis ranged from -0.16 to +0.15 mm and from -0.51 to +0.41 mm for the FHC and the FCC, respectively. The overall precision of the sonographic measurements was satisfactory. When used for determination of skeletal age, sonographic assessment of FHC thickness resulted in under/overestimation of skeletal age by about 7.5 months. In conclusion, sonographic measurement of articular cartilage is precise enough to be used in clinical practice.

This paper analyses the relationship between the thickness of the anterior femoral head cartilage (FHC), as measured by ultrasound, and some anthropometric parameters, such as height, weight, skeletal and chronological age. In addition, it provides standard norms for FHC thickness in a paediatric population. Both hips were examined in 213 consecutive subjects (99 boys and 114 girls), aged 1.9-14 years. Seventy-four subjects underwent hand and wrist X-rays for skeletal maturation: 32 of these were dropped from the study because a discrepancy as high as two standard deviations was found between their skeletal and their chronological age. The thickness of FHC correlated strongly with skeletal and chronological age, standing height and body weight. A side difference of 0.2 mm in FHC was considered to be abnormal. The study population was divided into 13 groups according to chronological and values of FHC for boys and girls are provided for each group. It is suggested that the magnitude of hyaline FHC is valuable feature in the evaluation of skeletal maturation in children.

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