Perthes' disease and the relevance of thrombophilia

Recent work has suggested that thrombophilia may be an aetiological factor in up to 50% of children with Perthes' disease, and that up to 75% may have a coagulopathy. Our aim was to test these findings in the local population of children with Perthes' disease and attempt to correlate them with the s everity of the condition. In 64 children there were only eight (12%) with low levels of clotting prot eins, as defined by normal paediatric ranges, Of these eight, only five cou ld be said to show any thrombophilic tendency.