Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss

Background. Diagnosis of bony infection remains difficult during childhood. Osteomyelitis of the patella (OMP) is rare and produces few symptoms and no fever. A high level of suspicion is needed to avoid missing this uncommon type of bone infection. Methods/Results. We report an acute osteomyelitis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aurélien Traverso, Benjamin Tschopp, Tristan Mekdade, Barbara Kwiatkowski, Nicolas Lutz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Orthopedics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/1780689
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849687028857307136
author Aurélien Traverso
Benjamin Tschopp
Tristan Mekdade
Barbara Kwiatkowski
Nicolas Lutz
author_facet Aurélien Traverso
Benjamin Tschopp
Tristan Mekdade
Barbara Kwiatkowski
Nicolas Lutz
author_sort Aurélien Traverso
collection DOAJ
description Background. Diagnosis of bony infection remains difficult during childhood. Osteomyelitis of the patella (OMP) is rare and produces few symptoms and no fever. A high level of suspicion is needed to avoid missing this uncommon type of bone infection. Methods/Results. We report an acute osteomyelitis of the patella treated by joint and patella puncture aspiration followed by antibiotics in a 12-year-old healthy boy. Clinical and radiological findings, orthopedic follow-up, and clinical outcome are presented. Conclusion. Making a diagnosis of acute osteomyelitis of the patella can be challenging especially in the pediatric population, as it produces few specific symptoms with mostly nonspecific biologic anomalies. The paucity in specific signs and symptoms, accompanied by the rare occurrence, often leads to incorrect initial diagnosis, such as overuse injury or apophysitis. Clinical examination with high suspicion for patella infection is key. Radiological exams including MRI are the main components of the adequate imaging studies. Computed tomography may be an excellent addendum to better visualize any bony lesion within the patella. Bone aspiration or biopsy is essential to confirm the diagnosis and offers a first step in the treatment of this infection, which can then be successfully treated with a normal course of antibiotics.
format Article
id doaj-art-01ac835fe4af4e0b80cdc8826e5f6e25
institution DOAJ
issn 2090-6749
2090-6757
language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Case Reports in Orthopedics
spelling doaj-art-01ac835fe4af4e0b80cdc8826e5f6e252025-08-20T03:22:29ZengWileyCase Reports in Orthopedics2090-67492090-67572020-01-01202010.1155/2020/17806891780689Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to MissAurélien Traverso0Benjamin Tschopp1Tristan Mekdade2Barbara Kwiatkowski3Nicolas Lutz4Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandBackground. Diagnosis of bony infection remains difficult during childhood. Osteomyelitis of the patella (OMP) is rare and produces few symptoms and no fever. A high level of suspicion is needed to avoid missing this uncommon type of bone infection. Methods/Results. We report an acute osteomyelitis of the patella treated by joint and patella puncture aspiration followed by antibiotics in a 12-year-old healthy boy. Clinical and radiological findings, orthopedic follow-up, and clinical outcome are presented. Conclusion. Making a diagnosis of acute osteomyelitis of the patella can be challenging especially in the pediatric population, as it produces few specific symptoms with mostly nonspecific biologic anomalies. The paucity in specific signs and symptoms, accompanied by the rare occurrence, often leads to incorrect initial diagnosis, such as overuse injury or apophysitis. Clinical examination with high suspicion for patella infection is key. Radiological exams including MRI are the main components of the adequate imaging studies. Computed tomography may be an excellent addendum to better visualize any bony lesion within the patella. Bone aspiration or biopsy is essential to confirm the diagnosis and offers a first step in the treatment of this infection, which can then be successfully treated with a normal course of antibiotics.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/1780689
spellingShingle Aurélien Traverso
Benjamin Tschopp
Tristan Mekdade
Barbara Kwiatkowski
Nicolas Lutz
Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
Case Reports in Orthopedics
title Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
title_full Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
title_fullStr Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
title_full_unstemmed Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
title_short Patella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Sinding-Larsen and Johansson Apophysitis: A Pitfall Not to Miss
title_sort patella osteomyelitis mimicking sinding larsen and johansson apophysitis a pitfall not to miss
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/1780689
work_keys_str_mv AT aurelientraverso patellaosteomyelitismimickingsindinglarsenandjohanssonapophysitisapitfallnottomiss
AT benjamintschopp patellaosteomyelitismimickingsindinglarsenandjohanssonapophysitisapitfallnottomiss
AT tristanmekdade patellaosteomyelitismimickingsindinglarsenandjohanssonapophysitisapitfallnottomiss
AT barbarakwiatkowski patellaosteomyelitismimickingsindinglarsenandjohanssonapophysitisapitfallnottomiss
AT nicolaslutz patellaosteomyelitismimickingsindinglarsenandjohanssonapophysitisapitfallnottomiss