Van Neck-Odelberg Disease: A Systematic Review of Literature and Case Presentation

Van Neck-Odelberg disease (VND) is a term used to describe ischiopubic osteochondritis, which typically presents with atraumatic unilateral groin pain. We performed a systematic review of the existing literature on reported cases of VND to collate what is already known. We also present a new case of VND to add to the relatively small body of literature on the topic. A systematic literature review was performed in July 2024 of PubMed, Medline, and Cochrane databases using the MeSH terms "van Neck Odelberg" to identify published articles. Inclusion criterion was defined as articles that provide individual details on cases of VND. Literature reviews without individual case details were excluded. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts according to relevance and content. A total of 16 case reports and four case series were included in the final review, excluding our own case presentation. This review included 43 cases of VND (28 males and 15 females). There was no significant difference in average age of presentation between males and females. Majority of VND cases presented with unilateral pain (n=37), mainly in the groin (n=25) and typically non-radiating (n=18). Pain associated with VND most commonly occurred on the side of the non-dominant lower limb (n=8). Review findings demonstrated a common pattern of features associated with the presentation of VND, which included unilateral non-radiating groin pain occurring on the side of the non-dominant lower limb. Our case of a nine-year-old, left-foot dominant, boy who presented with atraumatic right-sided groin pain was in keeping with others reported from our review. MRI confirmed the diagnosis of VND in our case; repeat MRI after a period of activity modification and use of non-steroidal analgesics showed improvement in radiological appearance, and the patient showed improvement in function.