title: Unnecessary diagnostic investigations in benign acute childhood myositis: a case series report.
abstract: Benign acute childhood myositis (BACM) is a rare, acute, self-limiting muscle disorder, mainly affecting school-aged boys, with an excellent prognosis, requiring no therapeutic intervention. We report a series of seven previously healthy school-aged children with clinical and laboratory findings suggesting BACM where no specific diagnostic investigations were performed. All of the children were hospitalized without any specific therapeutic intervention and were discharged after two or three days free of symptoms, residual impairment or other complication. This report emphasizes that the correct diagnosis of BACM, by considering the characteristic clinical and laboratory findings of this syndrome and by recognizing more severe pathological conditions, which must be excluded from the diagnosis, can prevent unnecessary diagnostic investigations and reassure both parents and patients of the excellent prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, General Hospital of Drama, Drama, Greece. xneoc@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neocleous
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spanou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mpampalis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xatzigeorgiou
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pavlidou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poulos
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tzanetis
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000097:blood; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009220:Myositis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology; D010290:Parents; D010808:Physical Examination; D011379:Prognosis; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; C409676:lactate dehydrogenase 2; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D003402:Creatine Kinase