UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE)

Posted: 7/17/2009 by Rose Chasm, MD (Updated: 4/20/2024)
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results from failure of the upper femoral epiphysis, which allows displacement of the femoral head on the femoral neck
onset may be sudden, but more often is gradual
pain frequently is referred to the knee, but can also occur in the hip
limp and out-toeing are common, with loss of medial hip rotation
majority of patients are 7-15 years old, and are aboce the 95th percentile for weight
AP or frog-leg lateral xrays of the hip are diagnostic

References

Baskin MN. Injury-knee. In:Fleisher GR, Ludwig S, eds. Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000:339-347

Staheli LT. Hip. In: Fundamentals of Pediatric Ortopoedics. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven; 1998:68-71.