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. 2018 Feb;26(1):52-54.
doi: 10.1177/2292550317740691. Epub 2017 Nov 21.

How Many Trigger Fingers Resolve Spontaneously Without Any Treatment?

Daniel McKee  1 , Jan Lalonde  1 , Don Lalonde  1
Affiliations

How Many Trigger Fingers Resolve Spontaneously Without Any Treatment?

Daniel McKee et al. Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018 Feb.

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: There is very little information in the literature evaluating the natural history of adult trigger fingers and their rate of spontaneous resolution over time.

Methods: A consecutive case series of patients with trigger finger was generated. For each patient, we recorded whether the patient's disease resolved from either no treatment versus active treatment options and over what time period.

Results: Three hundred forty-three patients with trigger finger were included in the study. Fifty-two percent of patients resolved without any treatment whatsoever after waiting a mean (and median) of 8 months from initial consultation. The thumb was the most frequent digit to resolve without treatment (72%).

Conclusions: We found that just over half of patients with trigger fingers who are referred to our office resolve spontaneously without any intervention.

Historique: Très peu de publications portent sur l’évolution naturelle des doigts à ressort chez les adultes et sur leur taux de résolution spontanée au fil du temps.

Méthodologie: Les chercheurs ont produit une série de cas consécutifs de patients ayant un doigt à ressort. Pour chaque patient, ils ont vérifié si le problème s’était résolu sans traitement ou après un traitement actif ainsi que le laps de temps nécessaire pour parvenir à ce résultat.

Résultats: Au total, 343 patients ayant un doigt à ressort ont participé à l’étude. Le problème s’est résolu sans traitement chez 52 % des patients au bout d’une période moyenne (et médiane) de huit mois après la première consultation. C’est le pouce qui guérissait le plus souvent sans traitement (72 %).

Conclusion: Les chercheurs ont découvert qu’un peu plus de la moitié des patients ayant un doigt à ressort qui sont dirigés vers leur bureau guérissent spontanément sans intervention.

Keywords: digit; finger; trigger; untreated.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
How long do patients wait before they achieve spontaneous resolution of their trigger finger without treatment?
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Of those patients with trigger finger who opted for surgery, how long do they first wait for spontaneous improvement before choosing to have surgery instead?
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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