Tuberculous Dactylitis in Infancy

Abstract

'rul)erculous daletylitis, though not one of the commoner tuberculous lesions, is frequently seen in young children of the class who cattend a Hospital Out-Patient Department. It is, however, rare to see adults with scars or deformity resulting from this lesion. We were so much struck by this fact that we thought it would be interesting to try to ascertain the end results of treatment of tuberculous dactylitis in infancy. In the five years from 1920 to 1924 inclusive, 1,403 patients suffering from tuberculosis attended the Surgical Out-Patient Department of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children, and of these 97 had tuberculous dactylitis, representing 6% of all Ccases of surgical tuberculosis. We have had great difficulty in tracing our cases. Many of them are the children of the very poor, who have no fixed homes, and who disappear completely as soon as they stop attending hospital. We have, however, been able to collect a series of 60 cases which illustrate some points of interest.