Background: Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) is an idiopathic pediatric hip disorder associated with avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Although there is no standardized and optimal treatment protocol for patients with LCPD, there are three primary treatment strategies: symptomatic treatment, nonsurgical containment using orthotic devices, and surgical containment.
Objective: This study aimed to describe the demographic characteristics, management and outcome of pediatric patients with LCPD at our center between 2005 and 2015.
Material and methods: In this retrospective study, 23 patients with LCPD who represented all patients with LCPD treated at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between 2005 and 2015 were enrolled. Their demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment methods, and outcomes were evaluated.
Results: Descriptive statistics showed that most of the patients were males (87.0%), with a mean age of 7.1±2.4 years. None of the patients had a family history of LCPD. Approximately two-thirds of the patients reported hip pain as the chief concern. LCPD was observed in the left hip in 60.9% of patients, the right hip in 21.7% of patients, and both hips in 17.4% of patients. Approximately half of the patients (55.3%) were treated with physiotherapy, and 10.6% were treated with orthotics. Despite that, 10 patients (43.4%) required surgical management after the conservative approach, and six of them underwent pelvic Salter innominate osteotomy.
Conclusion: These results highlight the experience of a single center in managing patients with LCPD. Treatment was different based on patient age; non-surgical treatment, mainly physiotherapy, was predominant in younger children. However, regardless of the type of treatment, the earlier interventions have proven to provide better outcomes in patients with this health condition.
Keywords: children; legg-calvé-perthes disease; orthotics; physical therapy; saudi arabia.
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