Congenital Insensitivity to Pain in a Nigerian Child: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: We present the case report of a Nigerian child with Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), a rare genetic neuropathy. This report presents the history, diagnosis and management of the child, highlighting the difficulties in diagnosing this condition, and emphasising the need for careful history taking and physical examination, including the need for multidisciplinary care. Summary: We report the case of a 2-year-old Nigerian female who presented with complaints of developmental delay and repeated self-inflicted injuries. We made a clinical diagnosis of congenital insensitivity to pain. She received parenteral antibiotics and multidisciplinary management by the Paediatric Neurologist, Orthopaedic surgeons, Oro-maxillofacial surgeons, and Plastic and Reconstructive surgeons. Her parents were counselled extensively on her condition, and she had good clinical response with complete healing of the wounds after three weeks. In low-resource settings with limited capacity for genetic testing, managing children with unusual pattern of injuries should prompt careful history taking and physical examination to identify rare diagnoses like CIP and prevent worsening disabilities and increased risk of death.