Non-traumatic Myositis Ossificans Mimicking Infected Hip in Children: Two Case Reports and Review of the Literature

We present two pediatric cases of nontraumatic myositis ossificans (MO), which initially mimicked infections, leading to unnecessary treatments. The first case involves an 11-year-old boy with acute left hip pain and swelling, misdiagnosed as a hip joint infection and treated with antibiotics before histology confirmed MO. The second case is a two-year-old girl who presented with limping and restricted hip movement, initially suspected to have septic arthritis. Following MRI and clinical reassessment, her condition was diagnosed as MO. Both cases highlight the challenges of diagnosing MO in children and underscore the importance of including it in differential diagnoses for suspected infections.