Fetal breech presentation predisposes to subsequent development of septic arthritis of the hip

We postulated a link between breech presentation and septic arthritis of the hip. To examine the potential association between these 2 relatively uncommon entities, we used the Patient Administration Systems and Biostatistics Activity (PASBA) database, which contains coded information derived from hospitalizations and ambulatory encounters at U.S. military hospitals worldwide. Among a cohort of nearly 1 million infants born in a 14-year period, 3.37% were found to be in the breech presentation. The rate of septic arthritis of the hip or pelvis during the first year of life among these breech infants was ∼1/8000, providing a relative risk of 4.1 (95% confidence interval, <1.4-11.7) compared with the rate among nonbreech infants. Fetal breech presentation predisposes to the development of septic hip during the first year of life.