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Joint restriction in an unhappy teenager
  1. P J C Davis1,
  2. J Hackett1,
  3. K Johnson2,
  4. J E McDonagh3
  1. 1Department of Rheumatology, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK
  2. 2Department of Radiology, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK
  3. 3Institute of Child Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr J E McDonagh
    Institute of Child Health, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and University of Birmingham, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6NH, UK; j.e.mcdonaghbham.ac.uk

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A 14 year old girl presented with a year’s history of joint pain, restriction, and swelling, initially diagnosed as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. She had no past medical problems but had given up her leisure pursuits owing to disability. Examination disclosed non-pitting oedema to mid-calf; a woody texture of the soft tissues of the forearms and calves with fixed flexion deformities of her fingers, wrists, knees, and ankles due to the soft tissue changes, and normal overlying skin. Investigations showed the following results: normal muscle enzymes, eosinophilia of 1.7×109/l, erythrocyte sedimentation rate 41 mm/1st h, haemoglobin 112 g/l, negative autoantibodies, and normal complement levels. The differential diagnosis included eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) and scleroderma. At this time, the patient requested counselling as she had difficulty accepting an initial misdiagnosis, delayed …

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