Hand Infections eMedicine Emergency

Description: In 1939, Kanavel, author of the landmark Infections of the Hand, observed, "In almost all cases of serious infection the difficulty is to make a correct diagnosis both as to the nature of the infection and the position of the pus." Specific infections covered in this article include paronychia, felon, herpetic whitlow, tenosynovitis, and deep fascial space infections.
Synonyms and related keywords: hand infection, infections of the hand, paronychia, felon, herpetic whitlow, infectious tenosynovitis, deep fascial space infections, acute paronychia, hangnails, nail biting, manicuring, finger sucking, eponychia, artificial nails, chronic paronychia, metastatic cancer, subungual melanoma, squamous cell cancer, floating nail, subungual abscess, herpes simplex virus infection of the finger, HSV infection of the finger, HSV-1, HSV-2, dorsal subaponeurotic abscess, subfascial web space infection, midpalmar space infection, thenar space infection, Staphylococcus aureus, S aureus, Streptococcus species, Candida albicans, C albicans, atypical mycobacteria, Neisseriagonorrhoeae, N gonorrhoeae, Eikenella corrodens, E corrodens, Pasteurella multocida, P multocida, Capnocytophaga species, frank abscess, osteomyelitis
Authors: Rohini Jonnalagadda, MD & Gregory S Johnston, MD 2008