North Carolina residents who have children who routinely suffer from pain in the thigh or knee may be interested to know that researchers have determined that there is a strong link between pre-disease obesity, slipped capital femoral epiphysis and area-level socioeconomic deprivation. The researchers found that children who have pain in their thigh or knee, instead of in their hip, had a reduced likelihood of receiving a diagnosis of slipped capital femoral epiphysis.
For their study, the researcher identified 596 patients at or under the age of 16 who had received a slipped capital femoral epiphysis diagnosis from one of 650 primary care facilities in the United Kingdom. The time period in which the diagnoses were made spanned from 1990 to 2013. Diagnostic delay, missed chances for diagnosis and annual incidence were the primary outcomes. During the 23-year time period that was examined, it was determined that there was an annual rate of 4.8 SCFE cases for every 100,000 individuals who were no older than 16 years old.
The results also show that 75.4 percent of the patients had more than one primary care contact with symptoms characteristic of pre-disease obesity and socioeconomic deprivation. This resulted in the common occurrence of a delayed diagnosis. According to one of the researchers of the study, it is necessary for physicians to be vigilant about properly diagnosing the knee or hip pain experienced by obese and overweight juveniles.
A medical professional negligence attorney may file lawsuits against the practitioners responsible for a misdiagnosis that result in unnecessary pain and suffering of a client. Financial compensation may be pursued for the unnecessary treatment, delayed treatment or worsening condition that resulted from the misdiagnosis.