Open Journal of
Clinical and Medical Images
Clinical Image - Open Access, Volume 3
Olecranon apophysitis on MR images
Enrique C García-Pretelt1*; Ana M Velasco-Marquez1; Martin E Renjifo-Duque2
1Icesi University, Faculty of Medicine, Lily Valley Foundation, Department of Radiology, Colombia.
2Lily Valley Foundation, Department of Radiology, Colombia.
*Corresponding Author: Enrique Carlos García-Pretelt
Icesi University, Faculty of Medicine, Lily Valley Foundation, Department of Radiology, Colombia.
Tel: 57-315-3904772;
Email: enritrelt@gmail.com
Received : Nov 17, 2023
Accepted : Dec 18, 2023
Published : Dec 27, 2023
Archived : www.jclinmedimages.org
Copyright : © García-Pretelt EC (2023).
Keywords: Apophysitis; Elbow; Olecranon; MRI.
Citation: García-Pretelt EC, Velasco-Marquez AM, Renjifo-Duque ME. Olecranon apophysitis on MR images. Open J Clin Med Images. 2023; 3(2): 1158.
Description
An 11-year-old water-polo male player with no previous history of trauma presented to the emergency department with right elbow pain for the past 3 months. X-ray showed olecranon fragmentation and irregularity (arrow on a). Sagittal and axial T1W (c-d) and PDFS (b-e) MR images demonstrated fragmentation (arrow on c-d) with hyperintensities (arrow on b-e) across the olecranon apophysis. Findings were consistent with olecranon apophysitis. No avulsion was demonstrated at the triceps tendon insertion. Because of the high speed at which the patient has to throw the ball, he needs strong triceps contractions to stabilize the elbow. It’s presumed that repeated forceful contractions may cause significant stress on the triceps insertion causing interruption of blood supply and localized avascular necrosis which results in fragmentation and edema of the tip of the olecranon, nevertheless, the etiology is unclear. Apophysitis of the olecranon is a very rare condition. To our knowledge, only 5 cases (Hunter and O’Connor 1980 and Danielsson 1983) have previously been reported. This is the first case report which includes MRI images.
Declarations
Data sharing statement: The relevant anonymized patientlevel data are available via request from the authors.
Declaration of interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest in the publication of this article.
Ethical approval and informed consent: The reported case was reviewed and approved by the institutional ethics comity. Following their guidelines, all protected health information was removed, and individual patient consent was not required for the analysis.
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
- Hunter LY, O’Connor GA. Traction apophysitis of the olecranon. A case report. Am J Sports Med. 1980; 8(1): 51-2. doi: 10.1177/036354658000800110. PMID: 7356800.
- Danielsson LG, Hedlund ST, Henricson AS. Apophysitis of the olecranon. A report of four cases. Acta Orthop Scand. 1983; 54(5): 777-8. doi: 10.3109/17453678308996629. PMID: 6670498.