LAUSR

Background Musculoskeletal (MS) complaints are one of the most common reason for administration to outpatient clinics. Objectives The study aimed to summarize the final diagnosis of the patients who suffered from musculoskeletal (MS) findings. Methods We prospectively evaluated the patients who were referred with the complaints of MS systems in a year period. Results A total of 940 patients with the complaint of musculoskeletal systems were examined. Among them, 577 patients suffered from arthralgia, 234 had arthritis, 39 had low-back pain, 26 had limping, and 64 had other symptoms such as myalgia, heel pain, hip and neck pain. A diagnosis of rheumatic disease was made in 430 of patients, while 510 had non-rheumatic conditions. Final rheumatological disease diagnoses were as follows: juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n=195), familial Mediterranean fever (n=101), reactive arthritis (n=46), acute rheumatic fever (n=39), toxic synovitis (n=17), psoriasis (n=8), Raynaud’s phenomenon (n=6), chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (n=5), vasculitis (n=5), systemic lupus erythematosus (n=4), juvenile dermatomyositis (n=2) and juvenile scleroderma (n=1). Among patients with non-rheumatic conditions, most of them had vitamin D deficiency, infections, mechanic-orthopedic conditions, and growing pains. Conclusion Evaluation of a child presenting with MS findings requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and systematic approach. As a busy pediatric rheumatology center, we demonstrated the final diagnosis of referred patients with MS symptoms and only less than half of the patients were diagnosed as a rheumatological condition. Whilst pediatric rheumatology centers are limited in number, our results put forth the need of formulating recommendations for clinicians in order to prevent unnecessary referrals References [1] Cavkaytar O, Duzova A, Tekşam O, et al. Final diagnosis of children and adolescents with musculoskeletal complaints. Minevra Pediatr. 2017; 69:50-58 [2] Hashkes PJ, Profile of a pediatric rheumatology practice in Israel, Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003 Jan-Feb;21(1):123-8. Disclosure of Interests None declared