A positive Barlow maneuver during newborn hip screening indicates what finding?

A positive Barlow maneuver during newborn hip screening indicates what finding?

• A. Dislocation of an unstable hip
• B. Galeazzi sign
• C. Reduction of a dislocated hip
• D. Trendelenberg sign

Answer: (A)

Barlow tests hip stability by gently adducting the hip and applying posterior pressure to see if the femoral head can be displaced out of the acetabulum. If the head can be dislocated with this maneuver, the hip is unstable and dislocatable, which is a sign of developmental dysplasia of the hip in its early, unreduced form. This is different from the Ortolani maneuver, which reduces a dislocated hip back into the socket; Galeazzi sign, when present, points to a leg-length discrepancy suggesting hip issues; and a Trendelenburg sign reflects hip abductor weakness in older children rather than an acute dislocatable hip in a newborn.

Barlow tests hip stability by gently adducting the hip and applying posterior pressure to see if the femoral head can be displaced out of the acetabulum. If the head can be dislocated with this maneuver, the hip is unstable and dislocatable, which is a sign of developmental dysplasia of the hip in its early, unreduced form.

This is different from the Ortolani maneuver, which reduces a dislocated hip back into the socket; Galeazzi sign, when present, points to a leg-length discrepancy suggesting hip issues; and a Trendelenburg sign reflects hip abductor weakness in older children rather than an acute dislocatable hip in a newborn.