Evaluation of Epidemiology and Etiologies of Acute Limping in Children Presented to the Emergency Department of Pediatric Hospital of Amirkola in Babol, Iran

Limping is a common complaint of children presenting to the emergency departments of hospitals; therefore, it is important to identify its causes and avoid unnecessary measures. In this study, common etiologies for limping in children presenting to the emergency department of Pediatric Hospital of Amirkola in Babol, Iran were evaluated.

All children under 15 years of age presented to the emergency department of Pediatric Hospital of Amirkola, during 2017-2018, with complaints of acute limping were retrospectively evaluated. Initially, 71 patients were found among whom 53 were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The census method was used to obtain the required samples. Patient information including demographic data, clinical signs, and symptoms at admission were gathered. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v22 software (IBM, USA), and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Of 53 children, 33 (62.3%) were boys and 20 (37.7%) were girls. The mean age of participants was 4.53±2.79 years old, and the mean length of hospital stay was 10.5±7.2 days. Inflammation and infections were the most common etiologies with a cumulative prevalence of 58.49 and 28.30%, respectively. Transient synovitis was the most common differential diagnosis with a prevalence of 43.4%, and the most affected joints were hips with a prevalence of 73.5% (p-values=0.001).

Most of the diseases for acute limping in children are self-limited, but this should not lead to disregard for infection as a differential diagnosis.