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Unusual association of diseases/symptoms
Septic arthritis presenting as brachial plexus neurophaty
  1. A Mascarenhas1,
  2. C Almeida2,
  3. C Constantino1,
  4. A P Soudo3,
  5. E Calado4,
  6. J P Vieira4
  1. 1Department of General Pediatrics, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Rua Jacinta Marta, Lisboa, Portugal
  2. 2Department of General Pediatrics, Hospital do Divino Espirito Santo, Rua da Grotinha – Arrifes, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
  3. 3Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Rua Jacinta Marta, Lisboa, Portugal
  4. 4Pediatric Neurology Department, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Rua Jacinta Marta, Lisboa, Portugal
  1. Correspondence to Dr A Mascarenhas, amascarenhas22{at}yahoo.com

Summary

Bone and joint infections are rare in the neonatal period. They often present with pseudo paralysis of the affected limb due to pain and discomfort caused by movement. The existence of a concomitant neuropathy is a rare and insufficiently understood phenomenon with few cases described. The authors report the case of a 7-week infant, born prematurely and with Staphylococcus aureus neonatal sepsis, who presented to the emergency room with a paretic right upper limb. Osteoarticular infection complicated with brachial plexus neuropathy was considered and MRI and electromyography the confirmed diagnosis. There was a good outcome after antibiotic treatment and functional rehabilitation.

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests None.

  • Patient consent Obtained.