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Hair tourniquet syndrome: A retrospective study
Noa Martonovich1,2, Maher Khatib1, Michael Assaf1
1Department of Orthopedics "A", Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel.
Objective:
Hair thread tourniquet syndrome (HTS) is a pediatric condition in which human hair or synthetic fiber encircles and strangulates a body appendage causing tissue necrosis. Few epidemiologic studies have been done. Our objective was to better define the demographics, clinical features, and predisposing factors for this condition.
Materials And Methods:
Medical records of all infants up to 1 year old seen in the orthopedic emergency department of Galilee Medical Center were searched for the diagnosis of HTS or its ICD equivalent.
Results:
Forty-one cases of hair tourniquet syndrome (HTS) were reviewed. Most cases (68%) occurred during the winter months (December to February). There were no reports between June to August (summer). The median age was 4 months and the male-to-female ratio was approximately 2:5. Toes were significantly more involved than fingers (97.5%) and the 3rd toe was the most affected (58%). Nine patients (21.9%) had more than one toe affected and only one case reported finger involvement.
Conclusions:
HTS in our population is a phenomenon that seems to occur mostly in winter. Infants between 3 and 5 months are at greater risk. Toes are more affected than fingers. The most involved toes are the 3rd and 4th.
