CASE REPORT   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2023 June;182(6):381-5

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.22.04824-0

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Traumatic knee hemarthrosis in an adolescent skier

Tatiana PATSIMAS ¹, Jay ALBRIGHT, Morteza KHODAEE ³ ✉

¹ Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA; ² Sports Medicine Center, Orthopedics Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA; ³ Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, USA

Traumatic knee injuries are common in the pediatric population. However, traumatic hemarthrosis that requires arthrocentesis on initial evaluation is uncommon in the adolescent age group. We present the case of a 14-year-old male skate skier who was brought to clinic with right knee pain and a large effusion immediately after a patellar dislocation event that resulted in a significant chondral injury. This patient benefited from an arthrocentesis which yielded 167mL of bloody aspirate. This provided significant relief from pain and discomfort while he underwent subsequent MRI and Orthopedic evaluation. Our case demonstrates that, in an adolescent patient who can tolerate joint aspiration without anxiolysis or sedation, a bedside arthrocentesis can be a helpful adjunct to initial management of a traumatic knee injury.

KEY WORDS: Knee injuries; Wounds and injuries; Patellar dislocation