The diagnostic dilemma created by osteoid osteoma that presents as knee pain

Purpose: Osteoid osteoma is a rare benign bone lesion with a high incidence in adolescents and young people. The objective of our study was to illustrate the difficulties in diagnosis of osteoid osteoma in patients presenting with atypical knee pain. Type of Study: Retrospective case series. Methods: In 10 patients who presented to our department with atypical knee pain between 1984 and 1999, the diagnosis of an osteoid osteoma was delayed. Retrospective review of these 10 cases was performed using interviews and re-evaluation of medical histories, radiographs, computed tomography (CT) scans, isotope bone scan, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results: Initial radiographs showed features of osteiod osteoma in only 2 cases. In addition, in 1 case, not only initial but also repeated radiographs of the knee joint were still normal 10 months after the delineation of the nidus using MRI. Four unnecessary arthroscopies were performed on 4 of the 10 patients and the final diagnosis was established using MRI, CT, and isotope bone scan. The mean time interval between arthroscopy and osteiod osteoma diagnosis was 11.5 months. Conclusions: Osteoid osteoma must be included in the differential diagnosis of persistent unexplained knee pain, especially when objective findings of the knee are vague. The presence of the lesion juxta-articular to the knee joint or in the midshaft or upper end of the femur may be referred as pain to a nearby joint. Plain radiographs have a low diagnostic value in the detection of the lesion whereas isotope bone scan and MRI are reliable imaging techniques. The evaluation of the ipsilateral hip joint should not be overlooked.     

Posttraumatisches Osteoidosteom Fallbericht und Literaturübersicht

Osteoid osteoma is a painful benign bone neoplasm that is rarely described after trauma but should be suspected. A case of osteoid osteoma 19 years after a tibial fracture is presented. The patient had pain in the tibia for 6 years before the osteoid osteoma was confirmed. He had been operated on twice for suspected osteomyelitis although the clinical symptoms suggested an osteoid osteoma. The radiographic appearance as well as a bone scan confirmed the diagnosis. Removal of the nidus resulted in immediate pain relief. A precise preoperative diagnosis of the lesion based on clinical findings, standard radiographs, high-resolution CT, and bone scan is mandatory. It is important to recognize this uncommon entity to avoid morbidity associated with a prolonged delay in diagnosis.     

Heel pain due to psoriatic arthritis in a 50 year old recreational male athlete: case report

Heel pain is a common presentation in a sports injury practice, with a list of common differentials including achilles tendinopathy and retrocalcaneal bursitis. However, seronegative arthritis can also cause enthesopathies that produce heel pain and should be considered in a differential diagnosis list. In this case, a 50 year old recreationally active male presented with non-traumatic insidious heel pain and without history of any skin conditions or any other symptoms of seronegative spondyloarthritis. Clinical suspicion led to laboratory testing and radiographs/bone scan which yielded the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis.     

Atraumatic Bilateral Insufficiency Fractures of the Talar Neck in a Rheumatoid Patient

We report a 73-year-old female with rheumatoid arthritis, who presented with a 1-year history of ankle pain without trauma. Conventional radiographs showed no bony abnormalities, and bone scintigraphy showed increased uptake in the neck of the left and right talus. Magnetic resonance imaging scans showed insufficiency fractures of the talar neck bilaterally. The patient was treated nonoperatively with weightbearing casts and analgesics. The present case study stresses the need to add insufficiency fractures of the talus to the differential diagnosis of chronic ankle pain when conventional radiographs show no abnormalities.     

Aseptic necrosis of the hamate: a case report.

The case of a 25-year-old man with osteonecrosis of the hamate is reported. He had pain and swelling in his right wrist. The diagnosis was accomplished with plain radiographs as well as with MRI. The case was treated surgically that included resection of the necrotic bone. The occured cavity was filled with autogenous cancellous bone graft. In addition, capito-hamate arthrodesis was performed. Histopathological examination following the operation demonstrated avascular necrosis of the hamate. The arthrodesis was obtained four months after the operation.     

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Three adult patients with cystic fibrosis presented with arthralgia, and investigation for the usual causes of arthritis proved negative. Radiographs of long bones revealed periostitis and new bone fromation characteristic of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Symptomatic improvement occurred after analgesic and anti-inflammatory therapy. In patients with cystic fibrosis and bone or joint pain, the diagnosis of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy should be considered and long bone radiographs obtained.     

Osteoid Osteoma of the Thumb: A Case Report

Osteoid osteoma is a rare occurrence in the hand, and only a small percentage affects the thumb and distal phalanges. An 18-year-old right-hand-dominant man presented to our office with an approximately 1-year history of left thumb pain without any history of trauma. He had seen several doctors previously and undergone multiple diagnostic tests with no definitive diagnosis. Plain radiographs and computed tomography at our institution were consistent with the diagnosis of osteoid osteoma. The patient was treated with surgical excision of the lesion without bone grafting. The diagnosis of osteoid osteoma was confirmed by pathology. At 6 months follow-up, the patient showed complete resolution of pain and full restoration of hand function. This case demonstrates that osteoid osteoma should not be forgotten as a differential diagnosis in patients with finger pain, especially in individuals who have not yet or just recently have reached skeletal maturity.     

Unusual osteoblastic metastases in the spine secondary to adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

An unusual case of purely osteoblastic metastasis in the spine from adenocarcinoma of the pancreas was reported. Severe low back pain with osteoblastic lesions pictured in a lumbar X-ray study were the initial manifestations. A percutaneous transpedicular vertebral bodies biopsy was performed and showed a metastatic adenocarcinoma. This clinical presentation is unusual and the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma should be considered when radiographs or bone scans show osteoblastic bone lesions.     

Bone scanning of the foot for unexplained pain

This paper reports the results of bone scans on 78 painful feet. Scanning helped in the diagnosis of persistent foot pain following injury and it enabled stress fractures, fractures of the sesamoids and subtalar arthritis to be diagnosed earlier. It reliably excluded bone infection and was useful as a screening test when radiographs were normal.     

Fracture longitudinale de la diaphyse fémorale par insuffisance osseuse : à propos de 3 observationsLongitudinal femoral shaft fracture due to bone insufficiency: a review of 3 cases

We report 3 new cases of longitudinal femoral shaft fracture due to bone insufficiency and review the 8 cases reported in the literature. The typical patient is a woman older than 65 years of age who presents with mechanical pain in the thigh and/or groin. Palpation of the thigh may reproduce the pain. The diagnosis is often made late because the radiographs are normal initially. However, an early and consistent finding is increased radionuclide uptake along the femoral shaft. The fracture line is readily evidenced by computed tomography but may be difficult to see on magnetic resonance imaging. Use of crutches for 6 weeks to protect the bone from weight bearing ensures healing of the fracture.     

Painful scoliosis secondary to osteoblastoma of the vertebral body

A 19-year-old boy with a painful thoracolumbar scoliosis was found to have an osteoblastoma of the body of T12. Excision of the tumour was carried out through a left thoracotomy approach and strut bone grafting was performed. Complete excision of the tumour was facilitated by intraoperative radiographs of the removed vertebra. Following surgery the patient’s pain resolved completely and the deformity was partially corrected. Osteoblastoma of the vertebral body in the thoracolumbar region has not previously been reported. Diagnosis may be difficult unless the significance of the association between pain and the scoliosis is appreciated. The tumour is often not readily apparent on plain radiographs. Therefore, further radiological investigation in the form of a bone and CT scan is necessary to establish the diagnosis. Early excision of the tumour is essential to prevent a permanent structural scoliosis from developing. Received: 15 July 1996 Revised: 28 August 1996 Accepted: 10 September 1996     

Longitudinal femoral shaft due to bone insufficiency. A review of three cases

We report three new cases of longitudinal femoral shaft fracture due to bone insufficiency and review the eight cases reported in the literature. The typical patient is a woman older than 65 years of age who present with mechanical pain in the thigh and/or groin. Palpation of the thigh may reproduce the pain. The diagnosis is often made late because the radiographs are normal initially. However, an early and consistent finding is increased radionuclide uptake along the femoral shaft. The fracture line is readily evidenced by computed tomography but may be difficult to see on magnetic resonance imaging. Use of crutches for 6 weeks to protect the bone from weight bearing ensures healing of the fracture.     

Insufficiency fracture of the tibial plateau: an often missed diagnosis

The authors have performed a retrospective study of 8 patients, all elderly females, seen in the period 2002-2004 with insufficiency fractures of the tibial plateau. Their mean age was 74 years (range 70-84). There was a history of trivial trauma in all patients, except one. Three of the patients were referred to the orthopaedic department, as a fracture line was visible on the plain radiographs taken 3 to 6 weeks after the trauma. The remaining five patients presented immediately after the trauma, which explains why their radiographs were still negative or only showed osteoarthritis. In the same 5 patients a diagnosis of tibial plateau fracture was made by CT-scan in 3, and by MRI-scan in 2 patients. All patients except one had a DEXA-scan, which revealed osteopenia in 4 and osteoporosis in 3 patients; all 7 were treated with bisphosphonates. All 8 patients were treated conservatively with a cast brace, for 6 to 12 weeks, with a good result. Insufficiency fracture of the tibial plateau is an often missed diagnosis. Plain radiographs are frequently negative in the beginning. Delayed diagnosis can cause pain and disability to the patient and can lead to deformity of the knee joint, due to structural collapse. MRI is sensitive to bone marrow oedema/ bone bruising, even in the osteoporotic tibial condyle. Once the diagnosis is made, the results are good with non-operative treatment.     

Diagnostic modalities for the evaluation of pediatric back pain: a prospective study

The commonly taught premise that pediatric back pain frequently has an underlying diagnosis has been recently challenged. Previous studies have suggested that up to 84% of children with low back pain have associated serious diagnoses. Children with back pain, therefore, have frequently undergone exhaustive diagnostic testing. There have been few prospective studies, however, about the diagnosis rate and appropriate diagnostic methods for back pain in children. This study prospectively examines the rate of diagnosis for pediatric back pain and the value of various diagnostic studies for this problem. METHODS: All patients presenting to our institution with a chief complaint of back pain were evaluated for the study. Inclusion criteria consisted of age younger than 18 years, no previous back surgery, no previous diagnosis given, and duration of pain longer than 3 months. Seventy-three patients were enrolled in the study, and an algorithm was created for diagnostic evaluation. The algorithm incorporated commonly used diagnostic techniques including radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, bone scan, and laboratory studies. The end point was considered to be either (1) a definitive diagnosis or (2) no diagnosis and no symptomatic or clinical changes during a 2-year period. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients (78.1%) ended with no diagnosis. Of the remaining 16, 9 were diagnosed with spondylolysis with or without spondylolisthesis. Three other patients had abnormal laboratory values but no definitive diagnosis. Other diagnoses included Scheuermann disease (n = 2), osteoid osteoma (n = 1), and a herniated disk (n = 1). CONCLUSIONS: This investigation is the largest prospective study of diagnostic modalities in pediatric back pain to date. Contrary to most of the previously published data, most of our patients ended the study with no definitive diagnosis. In addition, the most of the diagnoses were made at initial physical examination or via initial plain radiographs. No diagnoses were missed using our algorithm. These results suggest that pediatric back pain frequently does not carry a definitive diagnosis and that exhaustive diagnostic protocols may not be necessary for this problem. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prospective study; Level 2 clinical evidence.     

Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome

Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome (BOS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by elastin-rich hamartomas and osteopoikilosis. CASE REPORT: In a 21-year-old woman, osteopoikilosis led to the diagnosis of BOS. She had multiple, grouped, buff-colored papules over the thighs and trunk. There was no pain or pruritus associated with the skin lesions. Examination of a biopsy specimen from a papule showed thick uniform collagen fibers and normal numbers of broad interlacing elastic fibers. DISCUSSION: BOS is a rare disease that affects 1/20,000 population. The diagnosis rests on a thorough physical examination and careful examination of radiographs. BOS must be distinguished from other bone abnormalities such as sclerotic bone metastases, particularly when osteopoikilosis is the inaugural manifestation.     

Histologic and magnetic resonance imaging correlations in Kienb?ck's disease

Nine patients had magnetic resonance imaging studies to aid in the diagnosis of wrist pain in the midcarpal region. Six had positive magnetic resonance imaging studies with a decrease in signal intensity from the area of the lunate, one had an occult ganglion, and two had negative studies. Among the six patients with a diagnosis of Kienb?ck's disease by magnetic resonance imaging, four patients had collapse of the lunate on plain radiographs, and the other two patients had normal wrist radiographs. Magnetic resonance imaging studies showed a substantial decrease in the signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images of the entire lunate in three patients, and three patients had focal areas of decreased signal intensity. All of the patients had a biopsy of the lunate at the time of surgery. The histology of the biopsies of the lunate appeared to correspond to the magnetic resonance imaging studies. Undecalcified bone specimens from the patients with Kienb?ck's disease showed marked osteonecrosis in three patients, focal areas of osteonecrosis in two patients, and alternating areas of osteonecrosis with dramatic areas of new bone formation in one patient. Although in four patients the diagnosis was obvious by plain radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging studies were essential in confirming the diagnosis in two patients and were helpful in ruling out the diagnosis in three patients.     

Evaluation of pain in patients with apparently solidly fixed total hip arthroplasty components

The cause of pain in a patient with an apparently solidly fixed total hip arthroplasty can be difficult to elucidate. A detailed history, careful examination, and plain radiographs provide the most useful information, especially in excluding causes not primarily related to the hip. Determining whether the pain is related to the implant, to soft tissue, or to bone can require laboratory tests, radiographic and fluoroscopic imaging, and contrast arthrography and local anesthetic injections. Particularly when pain is caused by occult infection, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, hip aspiration, advanced radiologic imaging, and nuclear medicine scans can help determine the diagnosis.     

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis in a 13 year old female athlete: a case report

Chronic recurrent mutlifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an extremely rare skeletal disorder in the younger population. It presents with multifocal bony lesions that often mimic more sinister diagnoses such as infection or neoplasm. The cause of this condition remains unknown and there is limited evidence on effective treatments. In this case, a 13-year-old female athlete presented to a sports chiropractic clinic with non-traumatic onset of right ankle pain. After failed conservative management, radiographs and MRI were obtained exhibiting a bony lesion of the distal tibia resembling osteomyelitis. The patient was non-responsive to antibiotics, which lead to the diagnosis of CRMO. CRMO should be considered as a differential diagnosis for chronic bone pain with affinity for the long bones of the lower extremity in children and adolescents. The role of the primary clinician in cases of CRMO is primarily that of recognition and referral for further diagnostic investigations.