Dactylitis may also refer to as sausage digit or sausage digits. The root word definition of Dactyl means finger, toe, or digit.
Dactylitis is often misdiagnosed due to the swelling/inflammation factors that are involved. If misdiagnosed, dactylitis could be extremely harmful and the causes of dactylitis could even be deadly if treated improperly or left untreated altogether.
- Blistering distal. Blistering distral dactylitis happens when the pad of the finger becomes inflamed. This also normally happens with children from 6 months to up to 4 years of age. This type makes it difficult to move the finger around and is quite painful.
- Sickle cell attack babies as young as 6 months old. Sickle cell dactylitis is one of the chief symptoms of sickle cell anemia .
- Tuberculous affects the bones in the fingers, toes, feet or hands. Tuberculous dactylitis the pain originates from deep within the bone rather than near the surface of the skin and is considered extremely painful.
- Fever may be present
- Inflamed fingers, toes, or hands and feet
- Tenderness on or around the affected areas
- Swelling of the fingers, toes, feet or hands (Sausage like digits)
- If serious dactylitis, a person may not be able to walk or use their hands
Causes (Accompanying Diseases)
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Reiter's Syndrome
- Treponema Pallidum
- Juvenile Chronic Arthritis
- Gonococcal Arthritis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
Diagnosis And TreatmentTo diagnose dactylitis doctors will do an examination of the inflamed digits and take a look at the patients medical history and do blood work.
If Dactylitis is confirmed, antibiotics may be prescribed and the other accompanying causes or diseases may be treated as well depending on the situation.
Some antibiotics for dactylitis must be taken for up to 9 months.