Nicholas Pulos1, Robert B Carrigan2. 1. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2 Silverstein, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail address: nicholas.pulos@uphs.upenn.edu. 2. Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Wood Building, 2nd Floor, 34th Street and Civic Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail address: carriganr@email.chop.edu.
Abstract
CASE: We report a case of an eleven-year-old boy who presented to our clinic with a draining wound from the left elbow. He had a history of a left closed supracondylar humeral fracture that had been treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning at five years of age, and he subsequently developed late-onset osteomyelitis. The patient was successfully treated with surgical irrigation and debridement, followed by intravenous and oral antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Dormant osteomyelitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis for any child who presents with elbow symptoms with a prior history of a supracondylar humeral fracture that has been treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning.
CASE: We report a case of an eleven-year-old boy who presented to our clinic with a draining wound from the left elbow. He had a history of a left closed supracondylar humeral fracture that had been treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning at five years of age, and he subsequently developed late-onset osteomyelitis. The patient was successfully treated with surgical irrigation and debridement, followed by intravenous and oral antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Dormant osteomyelitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis for any child who presents with elbow symptoms with a prior history of a supracondylar humeral fracture that has been treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning.