Atypical facial pain (AFP) is a type of chronic facial pain which does not fulfill any other diagnosis. There is no consensus as to a globally accepted definition, and there is even controversy as to whether the term should be continued to be used. Both the International Headache Society (IHS) and the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) have adopted the term persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) to replace AFP. In the 2nd Edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-2), PIFP is defined as "persistent facial pain that does not have the characteristics of the cranial neuralgias ... and is not attributed to another disorder." However, the term AFP continues to be used by the World Health Organizations 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and remains in general use by clinicians to refer to chronic facial pain that does not meet any diagnostic criteria and does not respond to most treatments.The main features of AFP are: no objective signs, negative results with all investigations/ tests, no obvious explanation for the cause of the pain, and a poor response to attempted treatments. AFP has been described variably as a medically unexplained symptom, a diagnosis of exclusion, a psychogenic cause of pain (e.g. a manifestation of somatoform disorder), and as a neuropathy. AFP is usually burning and continuous in nature, and may last for many years.
There may be an effusion on ultrasound, similar to transient synovitis.Neurological conditions can also present with a limp. If developmental dysplasia of the hip is missed early in life, it can come to attention later in this way. Pain in the groin can also be caused by diseases of the organs in the abdomen (such as a psoas abscess) or by testicular disease. Rarely, there is an underlying rheumatic condition (juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Lyme arthritis, gonococcal arthritis, ...) or bone tumour. Treatment
Treatment consists of rest, non-weightbearing and painkillers when needed. A small study showed that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen could shorten the disease course (from 4.5 to 2 days) and provide pain control with minimal side effects (mainly gastrointestinal disturbances). If fever occurs or the symptoms persist, other diagnoses need to be considered. References
Further reading
Leet AI, Skaggs DL (Feb 2000). "Evaluation of the acutely limping child". Am Fam Physician. 61 (4): 1011–8. PMID 10706154.: An illustrated, free full-text review with emphasis on clinical examination of the acutely limping child. == External links ==