Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Very Young Children - A Case Report and Modern Review.

Background: Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tears in young children are rare and optimal treatment is poorly described. Diagnosis may prove challenging as young children may not be able to verbalize a complete history of injury, may be difficult to examine, and plane film radiographs often appear within normal limits. Surgical treatment carries a risk of physeal arrest, but non-operative treatment may lead to recurrent instability and pain. Methods: We present a case report of a fouryear- old child with a PCL avulsion off the femoral insertion who received an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with combined arthroscopic synovial debridement. We performed a literature review which compared the mechanism, location, concomitant injuries, work up and management of PCL injuries in children under the age of ten compared to adolescents and adults. Results: Nineteen months following surgery, physical examination revealed full knee range of motion and return to baseline function. Imaging studies confirmed there was no evidence of physeal arrest. Conclusion: ORIF with arthroscopy can be an effective method to treat PCL avulsions in children under the age of 10 years. This is similar to other case reports which reported positive outcomes with ORIF in this population. Large studies are needed to best understand optimal treatment modalities for PCL injuries in very young children. Level of Evidence: IV.

Correlations Between Eight Comprehensive Skeletal Maturity Systems in a Modern Peripubertal Pediatric Population.

BACKGROUND: Several skeletal maturity systems allow for accurate skeletal age assessment from a wide variety of joints. However, discrepancies in estimates have been noted when applying systems concurrently. The aims of our study were to (1) compare the agreement among 8 different skeletal maturity systems in modern pediatric patients and (2) compare these discrepancy trends qbetween modern and historic children. METHODS: We performed a retrospective (January 2000 to May 2022) query of our picture archiving and communication systems and included peripubertal patients who had at least two radiographs of different anatomic regions obtained ≤3 months apart for 8 systems: (1) proximal humerus ossification system (PHOS), (2) olecranon apophysis ossification staging system (OAOSS), (3) lateral elbow system, (4) modified Fels wrist system, (5) Sanders Hand Classification, (6) optimized oxford hip system, (7) modified Fels knee system, and (8) calcaneal apophysis ossification staging system (CAOSS). Any abnormal (ie, evidence of fracture or congenital deformity) or low-quality radiographs were excluded. These were compared with a cohort from a historic longitudinal study. SEM skeletal age, representing the variance of skeletal age estimates, was calculated for each system and used to compare system precision. RESULTS: A total of 700 radiographs from 350 modern patients and 954 radiographs from 66 historic patients were evaluated. In the modern cohort, the greatest variance was seen in PHOS (SEM: 0.28 y), Sanders Hand (0.26 y), and CAOSS (0.25 y). The modified Fels knee system demonstrated the smallest variance (0.20 y). For historic children, the PHOS, OAOSS, and CAOSS were the least precise (0.20 y for all). All other systems performed similarly in historic children with lower SEMs (range: 0.18 to 0.19 y). The lateral elbow system was more precise than the OAOSS in both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: The precision of skeletal maturity systems varies across anatomic regions. Staged, single-parameter systems (eg, PHOS, Sanders Hand, OAOSS, and CAOSS) may correlate less with other systems than those with more parameters. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III-retrospective study.