Digital clubbing: forms, associations and pathophysiology

Simon Dubrey1, Shrestha Pal2, Sarneet Singh3

  • 1Consultant Cardiologist in the Department of Cardiology, Hillingdon and Mount Vernon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Middlesex UB8 3NN.

Among proposed mechanisms to explain digital clubbing, the release of cytokines, specifically vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor, from aggregated platelets and megakaryocytes has emerged as the most likely explanation. This review describes these and other contributory processes.

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