gms | German Medical Science

14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT)

17.06. - 21.06.2019, Berlin

Spread of hand infections: A Retrospective trial single center study

Meeting Abstract

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  • Khaled Dastagir - Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
  • Sören Könneker - Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
  • Peter M. Vogt - PÄHW, Hannover, Germany

International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand. International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy. 14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT). Berlin, 17.-21.06.2019. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. DocIFSSH19-1617

doi: 10.3205/19ifssh0163, urn:nbn:de:0183-19ifssh01638

Published: February 6, 2020

© 2020 Dastagir et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Objectives/Interrogation: Owing to its function, the hand is predisposed to be injured or infected in daily work in many different ways. Hand infections present due to the complex anatomy of the hand, various causes and broad germ spectrum as heterogeneous and complex diseases. They can lead to severe disabilities and reduce drastically the quality of life. Early diagnosis and therapy prevent severe morbidities. Specific knowledge of trauma mechanism, pathogens and especially the spread of hand infection are necessary for adequate and early treatments.

The aim of this study was to evaluate systematically the spread of hand infections according to injury mechanism, pathogens and its entry area.

Methods: Retrospectively, all data of 519 patients with hand infections, who admitted from 2007 to 2014 our department of Hand Surgery, were generated from electronic hospital information system (SAP) and medical records. Patient's demographics and clinical data were recorded and analyzed for age, gender, pre-existing illnesses, course of treatment, the microbiology, C-RP, leukocyte number, the pathogen entry area and spread of infection.

Results and Conclusions: Our study revealed that, compared to other known factors for the spread and severity of hand infections such as germ spectrum, cause and individual risk, the localization of the portal of entry on the hand has a significant influence on the tendency to spread and the risk of a correspondingly severe infection.

Due to the different spread of infections depending on the localization of infection entry, finger infections in particular should not be trivialized, but should be judiciously closely assessed and treated by hand surgeons.