Not all the bowlegs is rickets! (a case report).

Bowing of the legs is common in childhood. Most times it is considered to be rickets without considering other possibilities. Blount´s disease is a close differential diagnosis which is developmental deformity characterized by intorsion of tibia leading to varus angulation. This case report aims to encourage pediatricians to expand their vision and consider other possibilities when a case of bowing of legs is encountered. Here we report a case of a four-year-old boy with bowing of both legs noticed first at 2.5 years of age. There was no history suggestive of trauma. Development of the child was age appropriate in all domains. He was receiving treatment for rickets for 1.5 years in form of oral vitamin D3 and calcium supplementations. He had no other clinical signs of rickets like frontal bossing, widening of wrists, and rachitic rosary except bowing of legs. His biochemical parameters did not show any alterations that would support the diagnosis of rickets. Weight-bearing radiographs of lower limbs showed medial intorsion of bilateral tibia with metaphyseo-diaphysial angle to be 25º on the right side and 20º on the left side, which was beyond the physiological normal angulation, therefore he was diagnosed as a case of Blount´s disease, stage III as per Langenskiöld classification. All the bow legs is not always rickets in pediatric practice. Therefore, various differential diagnoses should be kept in mind as early diagnosis and intervention can change a child´s life.

The aetiology of rickets-like lower limb deformities in Malawian children.

UNLABELLED: Debilitating rickets-like lower limb deformities are common in children throughout the world, particularly in Malawi, Africa where the causes are unknown. We have identified that Blount disease and calcium deficiency rickets are the likely causes of these deformities and propose calcium supplementation as a potential treatment of Malawian rickets. INTRODUCTION: Surgical correction of rickets-like lower limb deformities is the most common paediatric operation performed at Beit Cure Orthopaedic Hospital, Malawi. The aim of this study was to investigate the aetiology of these deformities. METHODS: Children with a tibio-femoral angle of deformity >20° were enrolled (n = 42, 3.0-15.0 years). Anthropometric and early life and well-being data were collected. Early morning serum and urine samples were collected on the morning of the operation for markers of calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Knee radiographs were obtained, and the children were diagnosed with either Blount (BD, n = 22) or evidence of rickets disease (RD, n = 20). As BD is a mechanical rather than metabolic disease, BD were assumed to be biochemically representative of the local population and thus used as a local reference for RD. RESULTS: There were no differences in anthropometry or early life experiences between BD and RD. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, total alkaline phosphatase and urinary phosphate were significantly higher and serum phosphate, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and tubular maximal reabsorption of phosphate significantly lower in RD than BD. There was no difference in serum calcium, fibroblast growth factor 23 or markers of iron status between groups. All children had 25OHD > 25 nmol/L. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency is not implicated in the aetiology of RD or BD in Malawian children. The cause of RD in Malawi is likely to be dietary calcium deficiency leading to elevated PTH resulting in increased losses of phosphate from the bone and glomerular filtrate. The causes of BD remain unclear; there was no evidence in support of previously suggested risk factors such as being overweight or starting to walk early. Prior to surgical intervention, supplementation with calcium should be considered for children with RD.