title: Elbow septic arthritis associated with pediatric acute leukemia: a case report and literature review.
abstract: Acute leukemia in children presents with various clinical manifestations that mimic orthopaedic conditions. The association of septic arthritis of the elbow with acute leukemia is very rare, and the correct diagnosis of acute leukemia is often established only after treatment of the septic arthritis. In this article, we present a three-year-old child patient with elbow septic arthritis related to acute leukemia, diagnosed promptly by bone marrow aspiration on the same day as emergency surgical debridement of the septic elbow joint due to the maintenance of a high index of suspicion, and treated with chemotherapy as soon as possible. The emergency physician and orthopaedist must recognize unusual patterns of presentation like this. Since delay in initiating treatment of septic arthritis may result in growth disturbance, elbow septic arthritis associated with pediatric acute leukemia must be treated promptly and appropriately. Early diagnosis is a good prognostic feature of childhood acute leukemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. t-uemura@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.forename: Hirohisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shintani
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D001856:Bone Marrow Examination / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011859:Radiography; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents