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Temporary brittle bone disease: fractures in medical care
Author(s) -
Paterson Colin R
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2009.01388.x
Subject(s) - medicine , accidental , asymptomatic , disease , radiological weapon , bone disease , surgery , osteogenesis imperfecta , pediatrics , osteoporosis , pathology , acoustics , physics
Temporary brittle bone disease is the name given to a syndrome first reported in 1990, in which fractures occur in infants in the first year of life. The fractures include rib fractures and metaphyseal fractures which are mostly asymptomatic. The radiological features of this disorder mimic those often ascribed to typical non‐accidental injury. The subject has been controversial, some authors suggesting that the disorder does not exist. This study reports five infants with typical features of temporary brittle bone disease in whom all or most of the fractures took place while in hospital. A non‐accidental cause can be eliminated with some confidence, and these cases provide evidence in support of the existence of temporary brittle bone disease.