Pathological Frac tures of Long Bones in Nigerian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Summary:  Thirty cases of pathological fractures of long bones seen during a 12-month period in patients under twenty years of age were studied. Two-thirds of the subjects were patients with sickle cell disease and non-sicklers with severe nutritional rickets or chronic osteomyelitis. The femur was the commonest site of the fracture. The preponderance of pathological fractures in these three groups of patients is probably due to the high incidence of sickle cell disease, infections and malnutrition in the environment, as well as to delay in seeking medical care by patients.