Gait and limp- Clinical Medicine Flashcards
What must you ask about in the past medical history regarding a child with a limp?
Include perinatal history
- Differential diagnosis risk factors - breech, oligohydamnios
- Birth complications
- Special care baby unit (SBCU)
Include developmental hsitory
- Milestones - how long walking
What must you ask about in family history regarding a child with a limp?
- Developmental dysplasia of the hip - DDH
- Inflammatory arthritides
- Autoimmune conditions
What must you ask about in the social history regarding a child with a limp?
- Other members of family at home
- Other carers
- Safeguarding concerns
What must you take note of in a general examination of a child with a limp?
- Well or unwell
- Comfortable at rest?
- Temeperature
- Pulse
- Well presented (do they look cared for)?
- Rashes
- Bruies/bites/burns
- ENT
What investigations must be done when presented with a child with a limp?
- FBC
- Inflammatory marks - CRP, ESR
- Autoimmune markers e.g., RF, anti-CCP
- Blood cultures (if thinking infection)
What imagaging must be taken when presented with a child with a limp
- Plain radiographs - fractures and dislocations, bony pathology
- Ultrasound - good for looking for effusions in septic arthritis, transient synovitis, Perthes disease (early)
- MRI - gold standard, detailed imaging of joint, soft tissues, difficult for kids <5yrs (cannot stay still)
List the possible differential diagnosis of a child with a limp
- Septic arthritis
- Irratible hip
- Slipped upper femoral epiphysis (SUFE)
- Developmental dysplasia of the hi (DDH)
- Perthes disease
- Osteomyeleitis
- Occult trauma
- Nueromuscular causes
- Juvenile idiopathis arthritis
- Malignacy
- Infection
a) List 3 clinical features of an “irritable hip”
b) List 5 causes
a)
- Painful hip
- Joint stiffness
- Limp
b)
- Infection
- Transient synovitis
- JIA
- Perthes
- Tumour
List 3 pathology relating to a limp can occur in all ages
- Infection
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
- Non accidental DDH
List 4 pathology relating to a limp that can occur in infants (1-3 years)
- (Late-presenting) DDH
- Irritable hip
- Neuromuscular
- Occult trauma(including NAI)
List 5 pathology that can ouccur in childhood (3-11 years)
- Perthes disease (3-7 year olds)
- Irritable hip
- Neuromuscular
- SUFE
- NAI
List 2 pathology relating to a limp that occur in adolescene (12-16 years)
- SUFE
- Infection
Age relates to potential patholofy. Fill out the boxes with the options: Perthes, SCFE, DDH
a) What is transient synovitis?
b) What is there usually a history of if a patient has transient synovitus?
c) Describe the epidemiology
d) Describe the managment
e) What is the main differential diagnosis
a) Reactive inflammation of synovium
b) Often history preceding viral illness e.g., URTI
c) 70% boys and age 2-10 years
d) Milder symptoms, resolves sponatenously, NSAIDs
e) Septic arthritis
What is the difference between osteomyelitis and septic arthritis? include difference in clinical features
Osteomyelities
- Infection within the bone
- Clinical features: ROM usually less affected, localised tenderness
Septic arthritis
- Infection within the joint spae
- Clinical features: ROM reduced, effusion, erythema
a) Describe the clinical features of septic arthritis
b) What are the most common pathogens causing septic arthritis?
c) What investigations should be undertaken?
d) Why should you keep a patient with septic arthritis nil by mouth?
a)
- Unwell and uncomfortable
- Fever
- Very limited ROM in joint
- Effusion
- Erythema
b) Staph Aureus and streptococcs
c)
- Bloods - CRP, ESR, WBC, cultures
- Serum lactate
- Urine output
- Plain x-rays
d) Keep Nil by mouth (NBM) as may want to wash joints out and off antibiotics
a) Does septic arthrits require surgey?
b) Does osteomyelitis require surgery?
a) No, it needs washout asap & IV antibiotics, oxygen, fluids
b) usually doesn’t need surgery - just antibiotics
Unless:
- Subperiosteal abscess (pus between periosteum and bone itself)
- Phanton valentine leukcocidin (PVL) staph - PVL is a a toxinproduced bycertain types of staph aureus
a) What is developmental dysplasia (DDH)
b) Describe the epidemiology?
c) What are the risk factors?
a) A condition where the “ball and socket” joint of the hip does not properly form in babies and young children
b) 1/1000, more common in females
c)
- Breech
- 1st degree family history
- Female
- First born
- Oligohyrdamnios (too little amnitoic fluid)
- Packaging disoders (occurs during pregnancy when foetus is squished/packaged too tightly within the uterus)
a) Describe the two main clinical examinations for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) including what they are testing for
b) What issue arise from these tests?
c) Describe the 4 others examintions you can do t test for DDH
a) Barlow
- Test of instability
- Common in new-borns
Ortolani
- Reduction of ths dislocated hip
- Clunk v click
b) They are negative after 3 months in many cases so are far from 100% sensitivity
c)
- Gait abnormalities
- Allis test - skin fold symmetry (low sensitivity and specificity)
- Galleazi - leg legnth discrepnancy (not a normal vraiant)
- Restriction of ROM - easy adduction of the flexed hips & ask about changing nappies
Every baby is clinically screen at birth, 6-8/52 weeks. What circumstances relating to an increase chance of DDH means an ultrasound screening is required?
- Breech
- First degree family history
- Abnormal clinical examination: barlow/ortolani/allis/galleazi/restrcition of ROM/gait abnormalities
a) Why does late presentation of DDH occur?
b) What is the clinical presentation of late DDH?
c) What will be found one examination of late DDH?
a) It occurs if there is a failure of clinical screening
b) Painless limpig (if walking), leg lenth discrepnancy
c)
- Restricted ROM
- Leg length discrepancy
- Asymmetric skin crease
- Loss of abduction and flexion of hip
- Abnormal gait
a) Age determines treatment of DDH. what is the treatment if DDH is found:
i) Before 3 months
ii) After 3 months
iii) Over the age of 1
iiii) Over 18 months
b) What is an increasing age of diagnosis of DDH associated with, relating to the treatment?
a) i) Pavlik harness
ii) Clsed reduction (GA)
iii) Open reduction of the hip (GA)
iiii) Open reduction with femorl/pelvic osteotomies (GA)
b) Associated with an inrease invasivness, complexity and complication of treatment. Also increased parental stress
a) What is Perthes?
b) Describe the epidemiology
c) What are the causes?
a) Idiopathic avascular necrosis of femoral head
b)
- 3/100,000
- 4-9 year olds (older children do badly if thye get it)
- M:F = 6:1 = male predominates (femaled do badly if they get it)
- In skinny, hyperactive children (but obese do badly if they get it)
- 25% bilateral
c) Causes are uknown but found to relate to:
- Clotting disorders
- Passive smoking
- Genetic
- Environmental
List 4 signs/clinical presentation of perthes disease
- Stiff hip - particulary abduction
- Limp
- Pain
- Leg lenth discrepancy
In Perthes disease children will have a stiff hip. Which movement is particulary affected in Perthes disease?
Abduction
a) What is herrings classification?
b) Describe the 3 groups of herrings classification
a) Classification based on how much lateral pillar of the femoral head has lost its height
b) Group A - no height lost
Group B -oevr 50% present
Group C - Under 50% present
a) What are the main principles of management of Perthes?
b) Describe the managment of Perthes
a)
- Try to keep ball and socket together to keep the congruent
- The less congruent the joint, the greater the chances of OA later in life
b)
- Physiotherapy for ROM
- Brace/plaster
- Surgical -femoral osteomy/ pelvic osteomy/ hipdistraction
- Wheel chir
- Bisphosphonates
a) What is slipped upper/capital femoral epiphysis (SUFE/SCFE)
b) Why must always SUFE be ruled out?
c) Describe the epidemiolgy
d) What are the associtations/risk factors?
a) The femoral neck slips in relation to the epiphysis (leaving head posterior and inferior)
b) It is usually completely atraumatic and easily missed out, unless you’re looking for it
c)
- M:F = 3:2 = predominance in boys
- 25% bilateral
- 2/100,000
d)
- Obesity
- Endocrine association (hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, chronic renail failure)