Occult proximal femoral fracture with radiating leg pain masquerading as sciatica: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports

Case Report

Ji-yeon Lee¹  Osahiko Tsuji¹  Taro Umezu¹  Arihiko Kanaji¹  Akihito Oya¹  Yasuo Niki¹  Morio Matsumoto¹  Masaya Nakamura¹ 

[1] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi,, 160-8582, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan;

关键词: Occult fracture;    Femur neck;    Early diagnosis;    Sciatica;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13256-023-03951-9

 received in 2021-08-17, accepted in 2023-04-26,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOccult proximal femoral fractures do not appear as fracture lines in radiographs, causing misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis unless additional imaging studies, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, are performed. Here, we present a 51-year-old male with an occult proximal femoral fracture who experienced radiating unilateral leg pain that took 3 months to be diagnosed because his symptoms mimicked lumbar spine disease.Case presentationA 51-year-old Japanese male experienced persistent lower back and left thigh pain after falling off a bicycle, and was referred to our hospital 3 months thereafter. Whole-spine computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed minute ossification of the ligamentum flavum at T5/6 without spinal nerve compression, but this did not explain his leg pain. Additional magnetic resonance imaging of the hip joint revealed a fresh left proximal femoral fracture without displacement. He underwent surgery for in situ fixation using a compression hip screw. Post-surgical pain relief was immediate.ConclusionsMisdiagnosis of occult femoral fractures as lumbar spinal disease may occur if distally radiating referred pain is present. Hip joint disease should be considered as a differential diagnosis in cases of sciatica-like pain with an unknown spinal origin and no specific findings on spinal computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging accounting for the leg pain, especially following trauma.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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