Search

Transient osteoporosis of the hip is a rare disease of unknown etiology. It is usually seen in middle-aged men and women in the third trimester of pregnancy and is associated with hip pain. It typically runs a benign course with eventual resolution of symptoms. We report three patients who presented with unilateral hip pain that started in the third trimester of pregnancy. Diagnosis of transient osteoporosis of the hip was made with the help of clinical and radiologic studies. Treatment was comprised of pain control therapy with diclofenac sodium (100 mg/day) for three months, bed rest for a month followed by mobilization with a walking aid. The follow-up period was at least 24 months. Clinical improvement occurred in the third month in one patient, and at the end of six months in the remaining patients. Complete radiologic improvement was seen at the end of 12 months.

We present a case of polyarticular synovitis following alendronate treatment for osteoporosis. The patient had no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis, pyrophosphate arthropathy, or seronegative/seropositive arthritis. Our main aim in this study is to highlight the potential adverse effects of alendronate and to warn orthopedic surgeons about the possibility of such a side effect that might lead orthopedic surgeons to administer wrong and unnecessary treatments like arthrocentesis. The withdrawal of alendronate is found to be the treatment of choice. Alendronate should be considered as a possible cause of synovitis or polyarthritis in patients treated with this agent in the absence of any other pathology. An association between alendronate and synovitis has rarely been described in the literature. We present a patient who developed polyarticular synovitis after treatment with alendronate and responded to its withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]