Bilateral trigger finger in a 5-year-old child: case report

Abstract

Trigger finger is rare in children. Herein, we report on a 5-year-old boy with trigger digits in several of his fingers since 1 month before which got worse. Triggering occurred in decreasing order of severity in proximal interphalangeal joints of the left middle, index, ring fingers and thumb. There was also triggering of the right index finger. The patient had no history of trauma, metabolic disorders and viral infections. The examination revealed triggering of the above-mentioned digits and was otherwise unremarkable. The patient was treated with physiotherapy (eight sessions) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (for 20 days). The symptoms were completely resolved 4 months after its onset. Although surgical release is recommended by many authors for the treatment of trigger finger in children, if an inflammatory process is not unlikely, particularly when the symptoms present at older ages, the patient may be treated with a short course of empirical treatment with physiotherapy and/or NSAIDs to see his/her response.