Finger clubbing, also called "drumstick fingers" or Hippocratic fingers, is a common clinical sign mainly seen in patients with heart or lung disease. The term is used to describe an enlargement of the distal phalanges of the fingers, giving them a drumstick or club-like appearance.
Clinical presentation
Finger clubbing presents in a number of typical stages:
- increased fluctuation of the nail bed
- loss of the normal Lovibond angle at the base of the nail (Schamroth window is lost)
- increased convexity of the nail
- widening or 'drumsticking' of the fingertip
Pathology
The underlying pathogenesis of finger clubbing is unknown.
Associations
Finger clubbing is associated with a long list of chronic cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases including 1,2:
- pulmonary disease
- cardiac disease
- gastrointestinal disease
- others
- thyrotoxicosis (i.e. thyroid acropachy)
- familial - generally prepubescent
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