Femoral neck stress fracture in children: a case report, up-to-date review, and diagnostic algorithm

Abstract

Stress fracture of the femoral neck in skeletally immature individuals is a rare condition and generally seen as compressive type. Because the condition may lead to disastrous complications, femoral neck stress fracture must also be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of pediatric hip pain. We present a case of compressive-type stress fracture of the femoral neck in a 10-year-old girl with left hip pain that was sustained for 4 weeks and emphasize the difficulty of early diagnosis with only a radiographic evaluation and put forward an algorithm for diagnosis and treatment.