Idiopathic gait disorder among in-patients with acquired gait disorders admitted to a children's hospital

Gait in children and adolescents with idiopathic musculoskeletal pain

INTRODUCTION

Musculoskeletal pain is a constant complaint in pediatric practice. The pain may be related to a number of organic diseases and / or be part of the amplified musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Idiopathic musculoskeletal pain (IMSP) is defined as the presence of intermittent pain in three or more body regions for at least three months, excluding organic diseases that could explain the symptoms.

OBJECTIVE

To study the gait of children and adolescents with IMSP by dynamic baropodometry.

METHODOLOGY

Thirty-two patients with IMSP and 32 healthy controls, matched by age, sex, social class, and body mass index (BMI) were enrolled. All were evaluated for pain intensity through the visual analogue scale (VAS) and gait evaluation using dynamic baropodometry.

RESULTS

The mean age of the IMSP group was 13.6 years (SD = 2.1, range 9.8-16.9) and of the control group was 13.5 years (SD = 2.0, range 9.6-16.5). The mean pain scale was 5.4 cm in the IMSP group and 0 cm in the control group (p < 0.001). In gait, the mean right foot velocity of the IMSP group was significantly lower (p = 0.034), the time of the step of the IMSP group was significantly higher (p = 0.003) and the pace of the IMSP group was significantly lower (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

In our study we observed differences between the gait of children with IMSP and healthy controls according to the dynamic baropodometry. This finding indicates the need for individualized attention to the gait of children with musculoskeletal pain.

Acute Ataxia in Children: A Review of the Differential Diagnosis and Evaluation in the Emergency Department

Acute ataxia in a pediatric patient poses a diagnostic dilemma for any physician. While the most common etiologies are benign, occasional individuals require urgent intervention. Children with stroke, toxic ingestion, infection, and neuro-inflammatory disorders frequently exhibit ataxia as an essential-if not the only-presenting feature. The available retrospective research utilize inconsistent definitions of acute ataxia, precluding the ability to pool data from these studies. No prospective data exist that report on patients presenting to the emergency department with ataxia. This review examines the reported causes of ataxia and attempts to group them into distinct categories: post-infectious and inflammatory central and peripheral phenomena, toxic ingestion, neurovascular, infectious and miscellaneous. From there, we synthesize the existing literature to understand which aspects of the history, physical exam, and ancillary testing might aid in narrowing the differential diagnosis. MRI is superior to CT in detecting inflammatory or vascular insults in the posterior fossa, though CT may be necessary in emergent situations. Lumbar puncture may be deferred until after admission in most instances, with suspicion for meningitis being the major exception. There is insufficient evidence to guide laboratory evaluation of serum, testing should be ordered based on clinical judgement-recommended studies include metabolic profiles and screening labs for metabolic disorders (lactate and ammonia). All patients should be reflexively screened for toxic ingestions.

Is physiotherapy effective in the management of child and adolescent conversion disorder? A systematic review

Child and adolescent conversion disorder has the potential to impart significant burden on health-care services and affect quality of life. Clinically, physiotherapists are involved in conversion disorder management; however, no systematic reviews have examined physiotherapy effectiveness in its management. The aim of this review is to identify the efficacy of physiotherapy management of child and adolescent conversion disorder. A search of multiple databases (Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, PEDro and the Cochrane Library) was completed along with manual searching of relevant reference lists to identify articles including children 0-18 years with a diagnosis of conversion disorder who received physical management. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts using criteria. Data were extracted regarding study characteristics, functional outcome measures, length of stay, physiotherapy service duration and resolution of conversion symptoms. Methodological quality was assessed using a tool designed for observational studies. Twelve observational studies were included. No functional outcome measures were used to assess the effectiveness of the treatment protocols in the case studies. Resolution of symptoms occurred in all but two cases, with conversion symptoms still present at 11 months and at 2 years. Length of stay varied from 3 days to 16 weeks, with similar variation evident in length of physiotherapy service provision (2.5 weeks to 16 weeks). There was limited and poor quality evidence to establish the efficacy of physiotherapy management of child and adolescent conversion disorders. More rigorous study designs with consistent use of reliable, valid and sensitive functional outcome measures are needed in this area.

The prognosis of functional (psychogenic) motor symptoms: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The prognosis of functional (or psychogenic) motor symptoms (weakness and movement disorder) has not been systematically reviewed.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed PubMed for all studies of eight or more patients with functional motor symptoms reporting follow-up data longer than 6 months (excluding studies reporting specific treatments). We recorded symptom duration, physical and psychiatric comorbidity, disability, occupational functioning at follow-up and prognostic factors.

RESULTS

24 studies were included. There was heterogeneity regarding study size (number of patients (n)=10 491), follow-up duration clinical setting and data availability. Most studies (n=15) were retrospective. Reported symptom outcome was highly variable. Mean weighted follow-up duration was 7.4 years (in 13 studies where data was extractable). The mean percentage of patients same or worse at follow-up for all studies was 39%, range 10% to 90%, n=1134. Levels of physical disability and psychological comorbidity at follow-up were high. Short duration of symptoms, early diagnosis and high satisfaction with care predicted positive outcome in two studies. Gender had no effect. Delayed diagnosis and personality disorder were negatively correlated with outcome. Prognostic factors that varied between studies included age, comorbid anxiety and depression, IQ, educational status, marital status and pending litigation.

CONCLUSIONS

Existing follow-up studies of functional motor symptoms give us some insights regarding outcome and prognostic factors but are limited by their largely retrospective and selective nature. Overall, prognosis appears unfavourable. The severity and chronicity of functional motor symptoms argues for larger prospective studies including multiple prognostic factors at baseline in order to better understand their natural history.

Fifteen-minute consultation: The child with acute ataxia

Acute ataxia is a relatively common presentation to the paediatric acute services or child neurologist. Although the cause of ataxia is most often benign, it is important during initial assessment to recognise or exclude serious causes including brain tumour and central nervous system infections. It is equally important to recognise the non-neurological causes of unsteady gait and to avoid unnecessary investigations. In this review, we have presented a diagnostic approach to a child presenting with acute ataxia and described various causes, their treatments and outcomes.

Pain syndromes in children

This review discusses the recent literature on pain conditions in children that should be of interest to rheumatologists. The focus of the review is therefore on musculoskeletal pains in children, particularly chronic or recurrent musculoskeletal pain. Articles that have a broader focus on pain are discussed when these are likely to be of general interest to rheumatologists. Chronic or recurrent pain in childhood is common and can be caused by a wide variety of conditions, several of which are discussed here. The importance of being able to measure pain in children has been emphasized repeatedly in the recent literature. With increased understanding of how to evaluate pain in children has come the recognition that pain in children is multifactorial and that even when there are obvious "organic" causes of the pain (such as arthritis), psychosocial factors are critical in how pain is perceived, and they influence the extent to which pain leads to dysfunction. There is also increasing evidence that cognitive-behavioral therapies are effective in managing chronic pain in children. The frequency of back pain in children is increasingly recognized, and the role of children's work and play, carrying heavy backpacks, and sitting for long periods of time at computers in causing back pain is of interest. The studies reviewed here add to an increasingly rich and informative literature on musculoskeletal and other chronic pain in children, and they help emphasize the importance of proper evaluation and management of pain in children.