Patellar Osteoid Osteoma as a Cause of Anterior Knee Pain in Adolescents: A Case Report and Literature Review

Claudio Chillemi,Vincenzo Franceschini,Giorgio Ippolito,Massimiliano D’Erme,Pasquale Farsetti

doi:10.1155/2013/746472

Abstract

Anterior Knee Pain (AKP) is an important cause of complaint in adolescents which can suggest many possible diseases. Scientific literature concerning this complex symptom is wide and diversified. We report a rare case of patellar osteoid osteoma which affected a thirteen-year-old female who had suffered from anterior left knee pain for almost six months. The diagnosis was suspected from an accurate anamnesis, a careful clinical examination, and confirmed by imaging. Several minimally invasive techniques can be employed to treat osteoid osteoma. However, we consider CT-guided percutaneous drilling the safest and most effective procedure in case of patellar location. Despite its rarity, patellar osteoid osteoma ranges in the differential diagnosis for all patients suffering from AKP.

Highlights

Anterior knee pain (AKP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders and an important source of disability with a prevalence ranging 15–33% in the active adult population and 21–45% in adolescents [1]
We report a rare case of patellar osteoid osteoma which affected a thirteen-year-old female who had suffered from anterior left knee pain for almost six months
The aim of this paper is to report a rare case of patellar osteoid osteoma as a cause of Anterior Knee Pain (AKP) and its treatment along with a review of the literature

Summary

Introduction

Anterior knee pain (AKP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders and an important source of disability with a prevalence ranging 15–33% in the active adult population and 21–45% in adolescents [1]. AKP is characterised by a set of symptoms defined in the past with the generic term of “chondromalacia patellae” [1]. This concept was later abandoned because it had no diagnostic, therapeutic, or prognostic implication [2]. The most common causes of AKP in children and adolescents with no history of trauma are patellofemoral malalignment, tibial apophysitis (i.e., Osgood-Schlatter disease), patellar tendonitis, and less frequently slipped capital femoral epiphysis and osteochondritis dissecans [4]. The aim of this paper is to report a rare case of patellar osteoid osteoma as a cause of AKP and its treatment along with a review of the literature

Case Report

Findings

Discussion