Sonography of the hip joint as part of the evaluation of acute lower abdominal pain.

Ultrasound evaluation of the hip joint was performed in 17 patients as part of the sonographic investigation of lower abdominal pain with referred symptomatology to the groin and thigh. Sonographic features consistent with hip joint effusion were detected in 12 of the patients. In four patients with positive arthrosonogram the possibility of hip joint involvement was not considered by the examining physician. In 11 other cases, hip pathology was included in the differential diagnosis. Of these, hip involvement was confirmed by sonography in eight patients and excluded in three. Sonography was found to be a useful objective method for the confirmation or exclusion of hip joint effusion. The examination had a significant influence on the patient management for shifting the attention of the clinician from the abdomen to the hip joint in four of the cases in this series.