[Avascular necrosis in a patient diagnosed with coxartrosis].

Coxartrosis is a common cause of hip pain among the elderly population. Avascular necrosis (AVN), also known as osteonecrosis, is a disease that most commonly affects the femoral head as a result of decreased blood supply to the bone. The etiology and pathogenesis is still unclear, but there are various traumatic and atraumatic factors that have been suggested as risk factors for AVN. However, almost half of the patients present none of these risk factors. Compared to coxartrosis, AVN typically occurs in a younger population. Initially it can be difficult to differ between these conditions. Plain film radiographic findings are absent in early stages of AVN, but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide early diagnosis. Thereby, MRI is the golden standard of noninvasive diagnostic evaluation. We present a patient with bilateral AVN that initially was diagnosed with coxartrosis.