Acute Calcific Tendinitis of the Hand: 2 Case Reports Involving the Abductor Pollicis Brevis

Abstract not available. Introduction provided instead.

Acute calcific tendinitis of the hand is an uncommon condition often excluded from the differential diagnosis and thus is misdiagnosed. A patient typically presents with pain, swelling, erythema, and decreased mobility secondary to pain. Premenopausal and perimenopausal women seem to be affected 5 times more
frequently than men,¹ and the most common sites involved are the flexor carpi ulnaris tendon near the pisiform bone, followed by long finger flexors, and then long finger extensors.^1-4 Many of the cases reported in the literature were initially misdiagnosed and treated as infection.^2,4-6 This leads to unnecessary use of antibiotics, hospital admissions, and possibly even surgery. One might also consider avulsion fracture, gout, pseudogout, and arthritis in the differential
diagnosis. Moyer and colleagues³ reported an average of 13.1 days to make a correct diagnosis, with the delay caused by unfamiliarity with the entity and lack, or misinterpretation, of initial radiographs.

Two cases of acute calcific tendinitis affecting the insertion of the abductor pollicis brevis are presented to raise awareness of this infrequent, yet easily treatable cause of pain and swelling about the hand and wrist.