2 year old daughter

[MegaMunstr]

I have a 2 year old daughter who has been complaining of right knee pain for over 5 weeks now.  There is a little swelling above her knee.  I took her to the ped and she wanted to run blood work and take an x-ray of her leg.  X-ray showed no fx, but did show swelling.  So far, not all the lab is back yet.  What I do have says her platelets are high, MPV is low, and her SED rate is high.  

Ped. was leaning toward her having something autoimmune as I have vitiligo, autoimmune uticaria, and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  Do these tests signal anything else other that some thing autoimmune going on?  


This discussion is related to 2 Year old positive ANA, High Sed rate and more what could this mean?.

[Mom2AshtonKai]

Hi, my 14 month old is going through the exact same thing with the right knee. They at first thought it was transiet synovitis but it's been over a month and that last virus typically last a week. We have immunologist and rheumtologist appts scheduled this month. What did you ever find out?

[MegaMunstr]

They also ran a RF and it was 8, negative.

[MegaMunstr]

We got her ANA back and it was positive, 1:160 with a speckled pattern.  Back in 07 when they did a ANA on me it was the exact same as hers.  I have also tested positive for the EBV antibodies.  Her ped. rhuem. apt has been moved up to the 23rd of June.  Hopefully we will find some answers for her.

[carolanivey]

It's good that you're being aggressive about getting to the bottom of what's wrong. Too many times things like this are written off as "growing pains".  Xrays are not particularly good at showing soft tissue swelling; did you mean the bone itself looks enlarged?

The growth plate for the high bone is above the knee, so when you say the pain is above her knee, it may not be the knee joint itself but something going in in the growth plate region of the femur.

The high SED rate simply means that there is some kind of inflammation going on in her body. Her CRP (c-reactive protein, another inflammation indicator) may be elevated as well. Ask if they ran a Rheumatoid factor test, and if it's positive - though even if it's negative, that doesn't mean she doesn't have a rheumatoid disease. It's just one of many diagnostic tools and isn't the definitive answer.

Check on the Arthritis Foundation web site for a list of signs of Juvenile arthritis and other autoimmune disorders.

In the end, you may never have a name to pin to her symptoms. She may be reacting to a common childhood infection. In any case, if she does end up having an autoimmune disorder, proper and aggressive treatment early on will prevent damage later in life.

You might want to ask for a referral to a pediatric rheumatologist, just to be safe. Hang in there, Mom, you're doing great! :)