A case of infantile scurvy treated only with vitamin C: a forgotten disease.
Scurvy is a rare disease occurring because of a nutritional deficiency of vitamin C. In the paediatric age group the disease is usually characterized by musculoskeletal manifestations. Treatment is straightforward and consists of vitamin C administration. However, if the patient is left untreated, scurvy may be life-threatening. We report here the case of a 16-month-old infant with scurvy. After proper treatment, the complaints disappeared in a very short time period and the boy grew up as a completely normal child during the 12 years follow-up. Nowadays only few physicians have experience with this disease, and ascorbic acid deficiency can thus easily be overlooked. With this paper we aimed to remind of the efficacy of vitamin C administration for patients with scurvy.
Bursali
Aysegul
A
Baltalimani Metin Sabanci Bone and Joint Diseases Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. dr.abursali@yahoo.com
Gursu
Sarper
S
Gursu
Alper
A
Yildirim
Timur
T
D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005269:Femur / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D012614:Scurvy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014815:Vitamins; D001205:Ascorbic Acid