A 54-year-old female presents to the emergency department with 3rd and 4th right finger pain after “jamming” them a week ago. She was reaching to tap someone on the shoulder and they backed into her hand forcing her fingers into flexion. She has swelling and pain at the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of her 3rd and 4th digits on the right and cannot extend the digits at the DIP joint. An x-ray of the right hand was obtained and is shown above (Figure 1: Lateral radiographs of the right hand. Author’s own images).
Resources & References:
Check out ALiEM’s Paucis Verbis cards to brush up on other can’t miss orthopedic injuries, and SplintER Series or EMrad for more cases. For further reading about myositis ossificans check out WikiSM.
- StatPearls. Mallet Finger. StatPearls. Published February 7, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022.
- McDonald L. Finger injuries. Core EM. Published April 12, 2017. Accessed March 19, 2022.
- Lamaris GA, Matthew MK. The Diagnosis and Management of Mallet Finger Injuries. Hand (N Y). 2017;12(3):223-228. PMID: 28453357.
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