Hand Infections
A 45-year-old diabetic carpenter presents with 3 days of progressive pain, swelling, and erythema of his left index finger distal phalanx. He recalls a splinter injury 5 days ago. Examination reveals a tense, erythematous, exquisitely tender pulp with loss of the normal finger pulp contour. The finger is held slightly flexed and passive extension does not significantly worsen the pain. Regarding felon infections:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
A felon is a closed-space infection of the distal finger pulp; the pulp contains multiple vertical f...
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common causative organism (60-80%); other pathogens include Strept...
The flexor tendon sheath extends into the distal phalanx pulp space; therefore, all felons carry a h...
Diabetics have a 3-fold increased risk of hand infections with higher rates of complications includi...
Differential diagnosis includes herpetic whitlow (grouped vesicles, burning pain, may have systemic ...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option