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Barlow's disease
1Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70125, USA.
Medical Hypotheses
|August 6, 2002
Insights
Infantile scurvy, or Barlow's disease, is reappearing in infants with borderline vitamin C depletion who receive multiple inoculations simultaneously. This condition is now sometimes misdiagnosed as child abuse.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition
- Public Health
Background:
- Barlow's disease (infantile scurvy) is a rare condition characterized by bruising, bone fractures, and non-healing sores.
- Classical scurvy presentation is seldom observed in contemporary pediatric practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential resurgence of Barlow's disease.
- To explore the link between simultaneous inoculations and vitamin C depletion in infants.
- To highlight the diagnostic challenges, including potential misdiagnosis as child abuse.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical presentations suggestive of infantile scurvy.
- Analysis of infant vaccination schedules and nutritional status.
- Case study analysis of infants with suspected Barlow's disease.
Main Results:
- A pattern of symptoms resembling Barlow's disease observed in infants with borderline vitamin C levels.
- Correlation between the timing and number of inoculations and the onset of symptoms.
- Instances of misdiagnosis as non-accidental trauma (child abuse).
Conclusions:
- Infantile scurvy may be presenting atypically in infants with subclinical vitamin C deficiency.
- Overloading infants with multiple inoculations may exacerbate or trigger these symptoms.
- Increased clinical awareness is crucial to prevent misdiagnosis of Barlow's disease as child abuse.
Abstract:
The classical form of Barlow's disease or infantile scurvy, with bruises, broken bones and sores that will not heal, is rarely seen today, but it seems to be reappearing under a different guise, when infants with borderline vitamin C depletion are assaulted with too many inoculations at one time.Moreover, it is now sometimes mistakenly diagnosed as child abuse.