Long Term Functional Outcome of Trigger Finger - The 36th Annual Meeting of the Israel Orthopaedic Association 2016, November 30-2 December, 2016, David InterContinental, Tel Aviv, Israel

Danit Langer ¹ Adina Maeir ¹ Michael Michailevich ² Shai Luria ³

¹School of Occupational Therapy, Hadassah and Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
²Department of Orthopaedics, Sherutay Briut Clalit, Jerusalem, Israel
³Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

Objective: The goal of the present study was to explore the long term functional outcomes of trigger finger (TF) as perceived by the patient.

Methods: Three study groups were included in the study: 109 patients with prolonged follow up (at least one year post treatment) (PF-TF), 66 patients with acute TF and a control group of 66 volunteers. The Quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) and numeric pain scale (NPS) were the main outcome measures.

Results: Both TF groups reported significantly higher levels of disability and pain in comparison with the control group The QuickDASH mean score was 27 for PT-TF group, 40 for acute TF group and 10 for the control group (p=0.001). The NPS was 2.5 for the PT-TF group, 5.5 for the acute group and 1.9 for the control group (p=0.001). The acute TF group reported significantly higher levels of disability and pain in comparison with the PF-TF group (p=0.001 for both measures).

Conclusion: Substantial long term disability and pain persist in both the acute and chronic settings. Long term follow up including evaluation of activity and participation should be considered. Assessment of TF interventions should include outcomes that address the patients’ perspective using standardized measures of disability.