Scurvy in A Malnourished Child: Atypical Imaging Findings

Abstract

Scurvy, a disease caused by a severe lack of vitamin C in the diet, is most often associated with 17th-century sailors. Its 21st-century manifestation is a disease of the poor, sick, and those living in remote rural neighborhoods in which fresh, nutritious food is hard to come by. It is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C and is rare in the United States. We describe the radiographic and MRI findings of a case of scurvy in a child with Noonan syndrome who is a "picky eater". MRI is rarely performed in scurvy as its radiographic findings are generally well known and sufficient for a diagnosis. However, due to the rarity of the disease in the US, MRI features of scurvy have been described in only a few case reports, to date. The rarity of this disease also causes scurvy to be kept lower, if at all in the differential diagnosis list.