Seven out of 22 children with monarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (MJRA) developed involvement of other joints between six months and three and a half years from the onset. In the other 15 patients the disease has remained monarticular for between one and 16 years (mean six years). Chronic iridocyclitis was seen in three of the five boys, two with antinuclear antibodies. Children with MJRA and antinuclear antibodies should have periodic ophthalmic assessment. Synovial biopsy was of value primarily in excluding other cases of arthritis, but there was only limited correlation between the histological findings and the subsequent course of the disease

Two boys with entrapment of the median nerve in the elbow joint after closed reduction of a posterior dislocation with fracture of the medial epicondyle showed a characteristic radiological sign in the anteroposterior radiograph after two to three months. The sign was a depression in the cortex on the ulnar side of the distal humeral metaphysis, with interruption of the local periosteal reaction. At operation in both patients the depression was found to correspond with the place where the median nerve reached the posterior surface of the humerus. Radiographs taken after transverse section of the nerve above and below the joint capsule and end-to-end suture showed gradual disappearance of the cortical depression

A series of 26 children was referred to our specialist unit with a ‘pink pulseless hand’ following a supracondylar fracture of the distal humerus after a mean period of three months (4 days to 12 months) except for one referred after almost three years. They were followed up for a mean of 15.5 years (4 to 26). The neurovascular injuries and resulting impairment in function and salvage procedures were recorded. The mean age at presentation was 8.6 years (2 to 12). There were eight girls and 18 boys. Only four of the 26 patients had undergone immediate surgical exploration before referral and three of these four had a satisfactory outcome. In one child the brachial artery had been explored unsuccessfully at 48 hours. As a result 23 of the 26 children presented with established ischaemic contracture of the forearm and hand. Two responded to conservative stretching. In the remaining 21 the antecubital fossa was explored. The aim of surgery was to try to improve the function of the hand and forearm, to assess nerve, vessel and muscle damage, to relieve entrapment and to minimise future disturbance of growth. Based on our results we recommend urgent exploration of the vessels and nerves in a child with a ‘pink pulseless hand’, not relieved by reduction of a supracondylar fracture of the distal humerus and presenting with persistent and increasing pain suggestive of a deepening nerve lesion and critical ischaemia

Failure of massive knee endoprostheses implanted for malignant tumours of the distal femur in children presents a difficult problem. We present the results of rotationplasty undertaken under these circumstances in four boys. They had been treated initially at a mean age of 9.5 years for a stage-IIB malignant tumour of the distal femur by resection and implantation of a massive knee endoprosthesis. After a mean period of eight years and a mean of four operative procedures, there was failure of the endoprosthesis because of aseptic loosening in two and infection in two. Function was poor with a mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score of 7.5/30, and considerable associated psychological problems. At a mean follow-up of 4.5 years after rotationplasty there was excellent function with a mean score of 27.5/30 and resolution of the psychological problems

A series of 98 patients with juvenile idiopathic scoliosis have been analysed. This showed that between the ages of four and six there was a higher incidence in boys whereas between seven and nine years of age, the proportion of girls was higher. Regardless of sex and age the majority of the curves were convex to the right and the single thoracic curve was the commonest pattern. Spontaneous resolution occurred in seven patients: in four the curves resolved within two years; in the three others the curves resolved in three, four and five years respectively. Forty-four per cent of all patients were managed conservatively and in 56 per cent spinal fusion was carried out

1. A simple calculation for the timing of epiphysial arrest to correct leg length discrepancy is described. An assumption is made that growth ceases at a constant chronological age of sixteen years in boys and fourteen years in girls. It is further assumed that the lower femoral epiphysis provides three-eighths of an inch and the upper tibial epiphysis one-quarter inch of growth each year. 2. Whilst the assumptions made are known to be approximations, analysis of the results of fifty-three epiphysial arrests in forty-four children shows that the errors cancel themselves sufficiently to make this method accurate. The simplicity of the calculation makes it useful to confirm or modify the timing of arrests calculated on the basis of skeletal age, or as an alternative method

We measured the clinical tibiofemoral (TF) angle and the intercondylar (IC) or intermalleolar (IM) distance in 427 normal European children (212 male and 215 female) aged from 10 to 16 years. In our study, girls had a constant valgus (5.5 degrees) and displayed an IM distance of < 8 cm or an IC distance of < 4 cm. By contrast, boys had a varus evolution (4.4 degrees) during the last two years of growth and displayed an IM distance of < 4 cm or an IC distance of < 5 cm. Values above these for genu varum or genu valgum may require careful follow-up and evaluation

Nine children sustained a second fracture of the distal humerus after union of an ipsilateral supracondylar fracture which had healed with cubitus varus. There were eight boys and one girl with a mean age of five years (1 to 8) at the time of the second fracture which occurred at a mean of 1.5 years after the first. In all patients, the second fracture was an epiphyseal injury of the distal humerus, either associated with a fracture of the lateral metaphysis below the site of the previous supracondylar fracture, or a fracture-separation of the entire distal humeral epiphysis. This suggests that the physis and epiphysis tend to be more subject to injury than the metaphysis of the distal humerus in children who have had a previous supracondylar fracture with varus malunion

We reviewed retrospectively the MRI examinations of 108 knees of 80 children to identify the prevalence of a high signal in the menisci of those without symptoms. There were 51 boys and 29 girls with a mean age of 12.2 years (8 to 15). The prevalence of a high signal within the menisci was 66%, significantly higher than that in an adult group (29%). The prevalence decreased with age: grade-2 and grade-3 changes were observed in 80% of menisci at ten years of age, in 65% at 13 years and in 35% at 15 years. The prevalence of high signals also decreased with increased skeletal maturity at the knee. We emphasise the importance of awareness of the high prevalence of a high signal intensity in the menisci of children, especially in early adolescence

Ultrasound (US) was used to determine the congruity of the shoulder in 22 children with a deformity of the shoulder secondary to chronic obstetric brachial plexus palsy. There were 11 boys and 11 girls with a mean age of 4.75 years (0.83 to 13.92). The shoulder was scanned in the axial plane using a posterior approach with the arm internally rotated. The humeral head was classified as being either congruent or incongruent. The US appearance was compared with that on clinical examination and related to the intraoperative findings. All 17 shoulders diagnosed as incongruent on US were found to be incongruent at operation, whereas three diagnosed as congruent by US were found to be incongruent at operation. The diagnostic accuracy of US for the identification of shoulder incongruity was 82% when compared with the findings at surgery. US is a valuable, but not infallible tool, for the detection of incongruity of the shoulder

Aims

Guided growth has been used to treat coxa valga for cerebral palsy (CP) children. However, there has been no study on the optimal position of screw application. In this paper we have investigated the influence of screw position on the outcomes of guided growth.

Fixation by a single screw is considered the current treatment of choice for a slipped capital femoral epiphysis. This approach promotes premature physeal closure. The use of a modified, standard, single, cannulated screw designed to maintain epiphyseal fixation without causing premature closure of the physis was reviewed in ten patients. The nine boys and one girl aged between 10.6 and 12.6 years with unilateral slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE), were markedly skeletally immature (Tanner stage I, bone age 10 to 12.6 years). Clinical and radiological review at a mean follow-up of 44.3 months (36 to 76) showed no difference in the time to physeal closure between the involved and uninvolved side. Measurement of epiphyseal and physeal development showed continued growth and remodelling in all patients. Use of this device provided epiphyseal stability and maintained the capacity for physeal recovery and growth following treatment for both unstable and stable slipped capital femoral epiphysis

We made a prospective longitudinal clinical and radiological study of 18 children diagnosed as having dysplasia epiphysealis capitis femoris. Half the cases were bilateral. Boys were affected five times more often than girls. There were no symptoms or clinical signs in most but some of the bilateral cases had an inconsistent waddling gait. The imaging studies suggest that the cartilaginous proximal femoral epiphysis is hypoplastic, with delayed appearance of single or multiple ossification centres. Progressive improvement occurred and at an average age of five years and six months, there was complete fusion of all the ossific nuclei and normal density and texture of the epiphyseal bone. The end result was a round epiphysis with a slightly diminished height. The dysplasia is attributed to focal hypoplasia of the proximal femoral epiphysis

We studied radiographs of 125 children (105 boys, 20 girls) with unilateral Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease to examine the epiphyseal development of the femoral head in the contralateral (unaffected) hip. The epiphyseal height (EH) and width (EW) of the unaffected hip were measured on the initial anteroposterior pelvic radiograph. In 109 of the patients (87.2%) the EH was below the mean for normal Japanese children and a significantly small EH (below −2 . sd. s) was observed in 23 patients (18.4%). By contrast, the EW of most patients (95.2%) lay within ± 2 SDs of normal values except for six with a significantly small EW. A strong positive linear correlation (R = 0.87) was observed in the EH:EW ratio in the patients. A smaller EH than expected for EW in our series indicated epiphyseal flattening of the femoral head in Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease. Our findings support the hypothesis that a delay in endochondral ossification in the proximal capital femoral epiphysis may be associated with the onset of Perthes’ disease

Routine examination for spinal deformity as part of a school health screening programme was introduced in Singapore in 1981. The three different ethnic groups included in the study provided figures for the prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in an Asian population. A three-tier system of examination was used and a total of 110744 children in three age groups were studied. In those aged 6 to 7 years the prevalence was 0.12%. The prevalence in those aged 11 to 12 years was 1.7% for girls and 0.4% for boys, a ratio of 3.2 to 1. In girls aged 16 to 17 years the prevalence was 3.1%. In the latter two age groups there was a significantly higher prevalence in Chinese girls as compared with Malay and Indian girls. The optimal age for school screening seemed to be 11 to 12 years, but repeated examinations may be worthwhile

Seventy children who had suffered from Perthes' disease were reviewed clinically and radiologically three to eight years from the onset of the condition in order to determine retrospectively the most satisfactory method of assessing the prognosis and the correlation between the clinical and radiological result. In younger children the femoral head was more likely to be spherical at the conclusion of the pathological process but not necessarily of normal proportions nor normally covered by the acetabulum. The prognosis was significantly poorer for girls than for boys. Clinical factors were not an aid to prognosis in the individual cases, but overall there was a close correlation between the clinical and the radiological end-results. The most reliable radiological factors indicating the prognosis were the extent of uncovering of the femoral head, the Catterall grouping, the presence of calcification lateral to the outer limit of the acetabulum and lateral displacement of the femoral head, as measured by comparing the head to tear-drop distances on each side

1. Two boys complaining of pain in the ankle were shown to have centres of separate ossification for the medial malleoli. These were present bilaterally, but discomfort was unilateral. 2. In one, followed for fifteen months, the extra centre became wholly incorporated into the normal lower tibial epiphysis. 3. in a series of 100 children between the ages of six and twelve, without any known disease or injury of the ankles, radiographs showed that 20 per cent had a separate medial malleolar centre on one side. In 13 per cent this finding was present bilaterally. In one child a separate lateral malleolar centre was also found. 4. The significance of this finding is discussed, and it is considered to be a normal variant. 5. Occasionally one of these centres may remain unfused into adult life. Attention is drawn to the possible implications of this persistence

We tested the hypothesis that children who sustain a supracondylar fracture have a greater range of elbow hyperextension than those with a fracture of the distal radius. Three observers made 358 measurements in 183 children (114 boys and 69 girls). There were 119 fractures of the distal radius and 64 supracondylar fractures. Initially, the group with a supracondylar fracture appeared to have extension 1.7° greater than that of the group with fracture of the distal radius. On average, there was a maximum variation of 3° between observers. After allowing for age, gender and observer, there was no significant difference between the groups. Our study had greater than 80% power to detect a difference in hyperextension of 2° at the 5% level with the above observer variability. When age and gender are taken into account, any variation in the amount of hyperextension at the elbow is not sufficient to explain the occurrence of a supracondylar fracture

We have examined the effect of arthrodiastasis on the preservation of the femoral head in older children with Perthes’ disease. We carried out a prospective trial in boys over the age of eight years and girls over seven years at the time of the onset of symptoms. The patients had minimal epiphyseal collapse and were compared with a conventionally treated, consecutive, historical control group. Arthrodiastasis was applied for approximately four months. The primary outcome measure was the extent of epiphyseal collapse at the end of the fragmentation phase. One of the 15 treated hips and nine of the 30 control hips showed a loss of height of 50% or more of the lateral epiphyseal column on the anteroposterior radiographs (Herring grade-C classification). On a Lauenstein view, one of the treated hips and 19 of the control hips showed at least a loss of height of 50% of the anterior epiphyseal column. The complications of arthrodiastasis included pin-site infection in most hips, transient joint stiffness in two, and breakage of a pin in two. The final outcome will be known when all the patients and the control group reach skeletal maturity

Forty-nine patients treated by epiphysial stapling for idiopathic genu valgum are reviewed. The children were aged from eleven to fourteen and a half years. The severity of the condition and subsequent correction were assessed by measuring the inter-malleolar distance. Results show that femoral stapling is the treatment of choice for most patients with inter-malleolar separation of up to 12-5 centimetres. The optimum age for stapling for both boys and girls is eleven and a half years. Stapling of both epiphyses is advised for those patients presenting late, for example, between thirteen and fourteen and a half years, or where the deformity is greater than 12-5 centimetres of separation. Correction rarely takes more than one year, and was cosmetically satisfactory in all cases. The operation is virtually free from complication except for a tendency for the scars to be broad and conspicuous. Stapling has proved to be a safe, effective and predicatable operation for idiopathic genu valgum