Use of sonography in the early detection of suppurative flexor tenosynovitis

Eighteen patients with swollen fingers suggesting acute suppurative tenosynovitis were studied by ultrasonography. All patients received intravenous antibiotics. Twelve patients required surgical drainage. Eleven of 12 patients had sonographic evidence of both a swollen tendon and fluid in the flexor sheath. Eleven of the 12 patients operated on had purulent fluid in the flexor sheath. Four of the operative cases were culture positive and four were culture negative. All six patients treated only with antibiotics had swollen tendons, but five of the six had no sonographic evidence of fluid in the flexor sheath. All patients had a full recovery. Sonographic evidence of fluid in the flexor sheath is a useful sign in the early diagnosis of acute suppurative flexor tenosynovitis.