Relationship between hand and wrist bone age assessment methods

Assessment of skeletal maturity is crucial for managing growth related problems. Tanner and Whitehouse (TW) hand and wrist bone age assessment is an accurate method; however, it is complex and labor-intensive. Several simplified methods derived from the TW method were proposed, and each had its own character. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between these methods for accurate usage.Between 2018 and 2019, a cross-sectional study was performed with consecutive left hand and wrist x-rays obtained from a pediatric orthopedic clinic. Bone age assessments included the distal radius and ulna (DRU) classification, Sanders staging (S), thumb ossification composite index (T), and TW method. Somers delta correlation was conducted to determine the interchangeability of these stages. The mean bone age and standard deviation (SD) of each subgrade were compared and analyzed.Totally 103 films (92 girls) were analyzed with mean age of 12.1 years (range: 8.0-17.9 years). The radius (R) stages had good correlation with S, T, and U stages with a very high Somers delta correlation (P