5-Minute Emergency Consult
Hand Infection
Basics
Description
Description
- Hand infections are commonly seen in the ED
- The range of pathology is broad and may include acute and chronic conditions
ALERT
- Serious hand infections are potential liability issues and must be handled with extreme caution
- Maintain a high level of suspicion for clenched fist injuries
- Referral to hand surgeon is almost always indicated
Etiology
Etiology
- Bacterial infection of the hand is associated with skin pathogens:
- Staphylococcus or Streptococcus spp
- History of a puncture wound
- Anaerobes are identified in 75% of paronychia in children owing to thumb sucking and nail biting
- Chronic paronychia may be caused by Candida albicans
- Herpetic whitlow is caused by type 1–2 herpes simplex virus
- Clenched fist injuries involve a variety of pathogens, including anaerobic Streptococcus and Eikenella spp
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Hand Infection." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307102/all/Hand_Infection.
Hand Infection. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307102/all/Hand_Infection. Accessed May 8, 2025.
Hand Infection. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307102/all/Hand_Infection
Hand Infection [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2025 May 08]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307102/all/Hand_Infection.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Hand Infection
ID - 307102
ED - Barkin,Adam Z,
ED - Shayne,Philip,
ED - Rosen,Peter,
ED - Schaider,Jeffrey J,
ED - Barkin,Roger M,
ED - Hayden,Stephen R,
ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307102/all/Hand_Infection
PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ET - 6
DB - Emergency Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
