Methods of skeletal age assessment using hand and wrist radiographs in children and their applicability across different ethnicities: systematic review and meta-analysis protocol - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #Ethnicity in Medicine
- #Pediatric Radiology
- #Skeletal Age Assessment
- Skeletal age assessment via hand and wrist radiographs evaluates biological maturity in children, especially when chronological age is unknown.
- Differences in skeletal maturity exist among ethnicities due to internal and external factors, raising questions about the applicability of current international references.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Ovid to assess the applicability of these methods across ethnicities.
- Study selection and data extraction will involve Covidence software, independent reviewers, and a PRISMA flow diagram, with quality assessed via the JBI critical appraisal tool.
- The review aims to analyze existing literature, highlight knowledge gaps, and explore ethnic differences to potentially develop population-specific reference standards.