REVIEW
Unexplained fractures in infancy: looking for fragile bones
1 Academic Unit of Child Health, University of Sheffield, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, UK
2 Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, UK
3 Sheffield Molecular Genetics Service, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr N Bishop
Academic Unit of Child Health, University of Sheffield, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield S10 2TH, UK; n.j.bishop@sheffield.ac.uk
Accepted 13 October 2006
Abbreviations: DXA, dual energy x ray absorptiometry; FEVR, familial exudative vitreoretinopathy; IJO, idiopathic juvenile osteoporosis
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
A fracture occurs when the force exerted on a bone exceeds the ability of the bone to absorb the force by deforming. Fractures in children are common—approximately one third of children will have a fracture by 16 years of age, with more boys experiencing fracture than girls.1 This differentiation in fracture risk is apparent from 2 years of age. Before the age of 2 years, fracture incidence is equal and occurs at a rate of approximately 80/10 000 person years. For the UK, therefore, approximately 4800 infants will have a clinically evident fracture before their first birthday each year.
Some long-bone fractures may occur at birth2 in association with events such as shoulder dystocia3; skull fractures may occur during forceps4 and ventouse delivery.5 Some may (uncommonly) occur as a result of clearly defined trauma such as road accidents.6 Most, however, fall into the "unexplained" category. This article reviews our
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