Objective: The purpose of this case report is to describe the presentation of a patient with osteomyelitis of the thumb.
Clinical Features: A 21-year-old man presented with painful, red, and edematous thumb pain over the anterior and posterior surface for a duration of 4 days. The patient reported no trauma or recent operation. The patient was treated conservatively for capsulitis. The patient’s symptoms worsened within 2 days, and he was referred for additional imaging consisting of a bone scan. The bone scan showed increased uptake, resulting in a change of diagnosis to suspected osteomyelitis. The patient was referred to a medical doctor for care that consisted of antibiotics and physiotherapy.
Intervention and Outcome: Despite treatment, the patient had some mild permanent damage to the range of motion of the joint and soft tissue volume loss.
Conclusion: This case demonstrates the importance of considering osteomyelitis as a differential diagnosis. Amputation was avoided for this patient because of the early recognition and referral.
Author keywords: Chiropractic; Osteomyelitis; Thumb
Author affiliations: REB: Victory Health, Guntersville, Alabama; GMG: Department of Radiology, Logan University, Chesterfield, Missouri
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