Skin, muscle and joint disease from the 17th century: scurvy

Abstract

We report three cases of scurvy, with differing musculoskeletal presentations, from a tertiary teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. Case 1 was a man with cerebral palsy who presented with knee swelling following a minor injury. In Case 2, a patient with thalassaemia major presented with purpuric rash, difficulty walking and distal thigh swelling and ecchymosis. Case 3 was a man with Down's syndrome who presented with acute ankle arthritis. Scurvy in Cases 1 and 3 were related to abnormal dietary preferences, whereas in Case 2, scurvy was thought to be related to thalassaemia. All three cases responded rapidly to vitamin C replacement. The subjects did not appear malnourished as they had adequate carbohydrate and protein intake.