A 44-yo gardener with a 2-day history of a painful right ring finger had been wearing gloves while pruning and weeding 3 days ago. His finger is kept flexed at the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints; passive stretch causes intense pain. What does he have?
Acute contact dermatitis
Angiolymphoid hyperplasia
Pyoderma gangrenosum
Black widow spider bite
Tenosynovitis from puncture
You are correct. Infectious flexor tenosynovitis is the inoculation of an infectious agent within the enclosed space of the flexor sheath. Kanavel’s classic signs include flexion hand position for comfort, fusiform swelling, tendon sheath tenderness, and intense pain on passive stretch of the digit.