Parents bring their 8-year old son to the ER for a recent fall resulting in a fracture to his radius. They state that over the course of the last year, he has become much less physically active and has seemed to be more clumsy. His walking pattern has changed, especially in the last few months, with him now walking on his tiptoes instead of the soles of his feet. He has recently complained of muscle aches and weakness, especially in the morning when he sometimes struggles to get out of bed, and throughout the day, he rarely engages in physical activities because he is “too tired”. The fall that broke his radius happened this morning when he tripped climbing down the stairs. Genetic testing confirms your hypothesis that this patient has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. (He does not have a family history of this disease.)
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