Chapter 17 - Ortho Flashcards
Erb’s Palsy
- also known as “waiter’s tip”
- due to traction or tear of the upper trunk, damaging the C5 and C6 roots
- caused in infants by lateral traction on the neck during delivery and in adults by trauma that bends the head away toward the opposite shoulder
- presents with weakness in the deltoid, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and biceps brachii
- infants will present with an asymmetric Moro reflex
- unable to abduct, laterally rotate, flex, or supinate the arm, so the arm hands by their side, medially rotate, extended, and protonated)
Klumke’s Palsy
- due to traction or tear of the lower trunk damaging the C8 and T1 roots
- caused in infants by upward force on the arm during delivery and in adults by trauma as if grabbing a tree branch to break one’s fall
- presents with weakness in the intrinsic muscles of the hand (lumbricals, interossei, thenar, and hypothenar)
- result is total claw hand since lumbricals normally flex MCP joints and extend DIPs and PIPs
- horner syndrome may be present if sympathetic fibers in T1 have also been damaged
How should brachial plexus injuries be managed?
- improvement should be noted within 48 hours
- if it doesn’t improve within 18 months, surgery may be required
Nursemaid’s Elbow
- subluxation of the radial head due to an upward force on the arm
- typically occurs in children younger than 6 years old due to the slender shape of their radial head
- presents with sudden onset of pain, which is difficult to localize, no swelling, and a refusal to use the affected arm even though normal hand function
- no radiograph is needed and a tech may accidentally reduce the subluxation in the process of positioning the patient
- reduction is by simultaneously flexing the elbow and supinating the hand
Anterior Shoulder Dislocation
- the most common type of should dislocation
- it occurs with excessive external rotation, abduction, and extension of the shoulder
- treat with immobilization after closed reduction
- recurrence rate is nearly 90%
Torticollis
- a tilting of the head to one side
- congenital torticollis is very common whereas acquired is very rare in pediatrics
- the congenital form is due to uterine constraint or birth trauma, which causes contracture of the sternocleidomastoid
- presents with decreased rang of motion, stiffness, and occasionally a soft tissue mass representing bleeding into the muscle if due to birth trauma
- treat with stretching exercises to relive the contracture; use helmet therapy if head asymmetry is note
- major complications are skull deformity and facial asymmetry
Atlantoaxial Instability
- an unstable joint between the occiput and C1 or between C1 and C2
- most often syndromic as in Down syndrome, Klippel-Feil syndrome, or skeletal dysplasias
- the physical exam is usually normal and individuals are asymptomatic, but spinal cord injury may occur if a patient with instability sustains injury
- diagnosed with lateral flexion-extension radiographs of the cervical spine
- treated with fusion of C1 and C2 if severe
Klippel-Feil Syndrome
- a failure of normal vertebral segmentation that results in relative fusion
- most commonly occurs in the cervical spine
- associated abnormalities may include congenital torticollis, GU anomalies, congenital heart disease, hearing loss, and Sprengel’s deformity
Sprengel’s Deformity
a congenital anomaly of the scapula in which it is rotated laterally, leading to shoulder asymmetry and diminished shoulder motion
Scoliosis
- a lateral curvature of the spine
- occurs equally in men and women, but women require intervention 8 times more often
- presents with asymmetry of the shoulder height, scapular position, and the waistline as well as a positive Adam’s forward bending test
- most cases are idiopathic, but if pain is present, it suggests there may be an underlying disorder that requires investigation
- the Cobb angle is a measure of scoliosis: draw a line along the superior aspect of the most angulated vertebrae at the top of the curvature and another along the inferior aspect of the lowest most angulated vertebrae; the angle of intersection is the Cobb angle
- scoliosis progresses only during growth or if the spinal curvature is greater than 50 degrees, which is the basis for treatment guidelines
- before and during the growth spurt: if there is 10-20 degrees, assess progression in 4-6 months, five degrees is significant; for 20-40 degrees, bracing is indicated; for more than 40 degrees, surgery is indicated
- after growth has concluded, surgery is considered if scoliosis is more than 50 degrees
- primary complications are respiratory or cardiovascular compromise, which may occur with more than 60 degrees scoliosis
Describe how scoliosis is managed.
before and during growth spurts:
- if there is 10-20 degrees scoliosis, follow up in 4-6 months to assess for progression; more than 5 degrees is considered significant
- for 20-40 degrees, bracing is indicated
- for more than 40 degrees, surgery is indicated
after growth has concluded:
- surgery is indicated if scoliosis is more than 50 degrees
Kyphosis
- an anterior-posterior curvature of the thoracic spine, resulting in a hunched back
- most cases are “flexible” meaning they can voluntarily correct the rounded area
- Scheuermann’s kyphosis is a stiff kyphosis and develops in previously normal adolescents
Back Strain
- muscular soreness from overuse or bad body mechanics
- the most common cause of back pain in children
- presents with diffuse muscular pain without neurologic deficits
- treatment includes rest and analgesics
Spondylolysis
- a stress fracture in the pars interarticularis secondary to repetitive hyperextension of the spin
- typically involves the lumber region, especially L5
- presents with localized pain, which worsens with hyperextension
- may be missed by plain films, so use a bone scan or single photon emission computed tomographic scan
- treat with rest and analgesics
- may be complicated by spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis
- a subluxation in which the body of the vertebra involved in a spondylolysis slips anteriorly
- it may impinge on a nerve root, causing symptoms
- diagnosis is with imaging
- treat with rest and analgesics; surgery is indicated for nerve impingement, persistent pain, or progression of the subluxation
Diskitis
- an infection or inflammation of the intervertebral disk
- may be caused by S. aureus, trauma, or rheumatic disease
- typically begins with signs and symptoms of a URI or mild trauma, which is followed by back pain and tenderness over the involved disk; fever may be present; children often refuse to flex the spine and young children may refuse to ambulate
- should be treated with bed rest and use of anti staphylococcal antibiotics
Herniated Intervertebral Disk
- less common and due to a different mechanism than in adults
- pediatric cases are caused by repetitive activity and rarely by trauma
- the lumbar region is most commonly affected
- should be treated with bed rest; surgery is indicated only for persistent symptoms or abnormal neurologic findings
Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
- the acetabulum is abnormally float, leading to the easy dislocation of the head of the femur
- risk factors are female sex, first born, breech position, daily history, and oligohydramnios; most cases involve the left hip or are bilateral
- may be normal at birth but develop months later
- Barlow maneuver, ortolani maneuver, and Galeazzi sign are all positive
- diagnosed with ultrasound in those younger than 6 months because the femoral heads have not ossified before that; radiographs can be used after that
- a Pavlik harness can be used to hold the femur agains the acetabulum and stimulate formation of the normal cup shape; surgery may be required if the diagnosis is made beyond 6 weeks of life, there is bilateral disease, the hips are not reducible on physical exam, or the Pavlik harness fails
- may be complicated by avascular necrosis of the femoral head, limb length discrepancy, painful abnormal gait, or osteoarthritis
What are the Barlow maneuver, Ortolani maneuver, and Galeazzi sign?
- Barlow: hip is dislocatable
- Ortolani: hip is reducible
- Galeazzi: an asymmetry in knee height when the hips are flexed
Septic Arthritis
- a bacterial infection of the joint
- may be caused by hematogenous spread, contiguous spread, or direct inoculation
- S. aureus and Strep pyogenes are the most common organisms, although N. gonorrhoeae is a major cause in adolescents
- the hip is most commonly affected joint is the hip in young children, which is a medical emergency, and the knee in older children
- presents with fever, irritability, limp or refusal to walk, and pain with movement of the joint; erythema, swelling, and asymmetry of soft tissue folds may be present; the limb is usually held flexed, abducted, and externally rotated
- diagnosed with elevated WBC, ESR, and CRP; synovial fluid demonstrates a positive gram stain and culture as well as WBC count greater than 50K
- ultrasound may demonstrate fluid in the joint capsule
- joint aspiration is needed to avoid avascular necrosis and to diagnose the infection; IV antibiotics are added to cover gram-positives