Leg ulcers in children and teenagers: A monocentric study of 10 cases

Abstract

Leg ulcers in adults are a major public health concern. Incidence is increasing with age and there are many causes, with a predominance of vascular etiology. Leg ulcers in children and teenagers are less known and few studies have been conducted to investigate them. The aim of our study was to examine the causes of leg ulcers in children and teenagers. We conducted a retrospective monocentric study in the Victor-Dupouy hospital in Argenteuil, in children and teenagers who consulted in our center, between 2008 and 2018, for a chronic leg ulcer (disease course>4 weeks). Ten patients were included, two boys and eight girls, aged from 7 to 15.3 years old. The most frequent etiologies were: supine ulcers (n=2) and infectious (n=2). The others etiologies were: sores under cast (n=1), sickle cell disease (n=1), dermatomyositis (n=1), post trauma (n=1), Pyoderma gangrenosum (n=1), ulcer on hemangioma (n=1). Infectious causes and supine ulcers were the most frequent etiologies found in our study. These results should be completed by other observations in a multicentric study, currently underway in order to have a better knowledge of the etiologies of leg ulcers in this population and of their clinical course.