Related Experiment Videos
[Back pain in children]
J C Abril Martín1, L A Martos Rodríguez, J A Queiruga Dios
1Hospital Nacional del Niño Jesús, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid.
Insights
Back pain in children is often idiopathic, but pathological causes require specific treatment. This study investigated the incidence and causes of pediatric back pain, finding 59% of cases were pathological.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Clinical Epidemiology
Context:
- Back pain is a common pediatric complaint with unknown incidence in our country.
- It is essential to differentiate between idiopathic and pathological causes requiring specific interventions.
Purpose:
- To determine the incidence and etiological factors of back pain in children.
- To identify underlying pathologies necessitating specialized treatment.
Summary:
- A 7-month prospective study of 22 pediatric patients with back pain revealed an incidence of 2.9%.
- Idiopathic causes were most frequent (41%), while 59% had identifiable pathologies including Scheuermann disease, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, discitis, neoplasm, and psychogenic factors.
- Diagnosis involved history and radiological examination, identifying causes in 50% of cases.
Impact:
- Highlights the importance of thorough evaluation for pediatric back pain to rule out serious conditions.
- Informs management strategies, recommending conservative treatment for idiopathic cases and specific interventions for pathological causes.
Objective:
The incidence of back pain in children in our country is unknown. Several causes can produce this symptom, but it is necessary to rule out pathologies that require specific treatments. The goal of this work was to study the incidence and the etiology of back pain in children in our country.
Patients And Methods:
We present a prospective study done in our Orthopedic Department during a period of 7 months. Twenty-two patients were referred with back pain of at least two months duration. The incidence was 2.9% compared to the total number of patients. The average age ranged from 7 to 17 years.
Results:
A careful history and a radiological examination diagnosed 50% (11 cases) of the causes of backache in the present study. An idiopathic etiology was the most frequent cause and represented 9 patients (41%). In the remaining 12 cases (59%) pathological causes that required special treatment were identified including 2 cases of Scheuermann disease, 4 cases of painful scoliosis, 3 spondylolysis with spondylolisthesis, 2 cases of discitis, 1 benign neoplasm and 1 psychogenic cause.
Conclusions:
We recommend conservative management with the use of medication for relief of pain and physical therapy in the idiopathic cases. In the remaining cases, the specific treatment of the disease can improve the back pain.