Acute osteomyelitis of the ilium mimics septic arthritis of the hip in children.

Osteomyelitis of the ilium is uncommon representing 2.3%1 of all cases of acute osteomyelitis. It is far more common in children than in adults and the clinical features are similar to those of acute pyogenic arthritis of the hip joint. A lack of awareness of this clinical entity in the differential diagnosis ofcauses ofpain around the hip means that physical examination is often inadequate and there are delays in obtaining the appropriate imaging studies. This leads to a delay in diagnosis, which is associated with significant and prolonged morbidity. We present two instructive cases of osteomyelitis of ilium, in children and discuss the management of this uncommon condition.