Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Norberg angle does not reliably predict hip problems in dogs
By Gaspar, Ana R et al.·Published in Preventive veterinary medicine·2016·Department of Veterinary Sciences-CITAB·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The Norberg angle is not an accurate predictor of canine hip conformation based on the distraction index and the dorsolateral subluxation score.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study involving 437 dogs found that the Norberg angle, a measurement used to assess hip joint health, is not a reliable way to predict hip dysplasia in dogs. Symptoms of hip dysplasia can include pain, decreased activity, and limping, especially in medium to large breeds. The research suggests that using other methods, like the distraction index or dorsolateral subluxation score, may be more effective for screening dogs before breeding. This means that relying solely on the Norberg angle could lead to breeding dogs that may still have hip problems.
People also search for: dog hip dysplasia symptoms · Norberg angle accuracy · dog limping treatment · canine hip joint health · hip dysplasia screening methods
Abstract
Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a common complex trait characterized by abnormal hip joint development. Hip joint laxity, an early characteristic of CHD, results in degeneration of the joint due to mechanical trauma, which is a clinical problem mostly in medium to large breed dogs. Clinical signs include pain, decreased activity and lameness. A retrospective, multi-center, cross sectional study of 437 dogs was performed to determine if a Norberg angle (NA) ≥105° accurately predicts a non-dysplastic hip based on a distraction index (DI) cut-off of ≤0.3 or a dorsolateral subluxation (DLS) score cut-off of ≥55%. The predictive capacity of the NA against a DI ≤0.3 or a DLS score ≥55% was assessed using area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The ROC curve of NA for the prediction of a DI ≤0.3 was 0.59 (95% CI=0.50-0.69) and for the prediction of DLS score ≥55% was 0.69 (95% CI=0.63-0.75). Optimizing the specificity of the NA to ≥80% for prediction of a DI ≤0.3 and a DLS score ≥55% gave a cut-point for the NA of ≥112° and 108.7°, respectively. In conclusion, at the cut-point of 105°, the NA is not an accurate measurement to score normal or abnormal hips, based on the DI or DLS score. Application of screening methods for CHD based on hip laxity, such as the DI or the DLS score, would help to remove additional dysplastic dogs from the breeding pool or the NA criterion should be higher when selecting unaffected dogs for breeding.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27931928/