Between 1976 and 1979, hand radiographs of 112 Malay children, 55 males and 57 females aged from 12 to 28 months, from higher socio-economic class families were obtained and studied by two radiologists. These children were part of a longitudinal study on growth and development. A total of 268 hand and wrist radiographs were taken, which the radiologists read independently of each other using the Greulich and Pyle Atlas. The bone age was then compared with the chronological age and the difference, if any, was noted and 'scored'. It was found that 83.4% of cases for males and 94.8% of cases for females matched within the +/- 6 months discrepancy range. For practical purposes therefore, our population may use the Greulich-Pyle Atlas with a good degree of confidence. Typical hand radiographs of male and female Malay children at 12, 18 and 24 months of age are also presented and these may be used as standards for Malaysian children at the respective age groups.
The prevalence of nasal septal deformity and its relationship with the different types and difficulty of delivery were studied in a randomised group of newborns at the Maternity Hospital Kuala Lumpur between 1st November 1989 to 31st January 1990. Out of a total of 674 noses examined using the otoscope, 147 (21.8%) were found to have nasal septal deformity. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of nasal septal deformity in the different types of delivery. There was also no significant increase in the prevalence of nasal septal deformity with increasing degree of difficulty of the delivery. Therefore, we cannot then attribute parturition pressures or birth trauma as the etiology of these congenital nasal septal deformity. Nevertheless a policy of routine screening in view of early correction is advocated to decrease the morbidity associated with this deformity in newborns and children.