Risk Factors for Developing Community-Acquired Hand Infections at a Large-Volume Urban Safety Net Hospital

Hand infections represent a significant burden for both health care systems and their patients. Epidemiological understanding of community-acquired hand infections is limited. This study examined a cohort of hand infection patients at a large urban safety net hospital for characteristics that were associated with protective and/or risk factors for hand infections.

We performed a retrospective chart review for all patients who required hand surgery consultation in the emergency department during a 1-year period (2021-2022). County-level population characteristics were obtained through the county-level data sources. We then performed a risk ratio (RR) analysis for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

A total of 125 patients were included in the study cohort. Cisgender male (RR, 4.654; P < 0.001), Black (RR, 6.062; P < 0.001) and American Indian/Alaska Native (RR, 3.293; P = 0.041) patients were found to be overrepresented in our cohort when compared to county proportions, indicating an association with increased risk of hand infections. Patients between 35 and 49 years of age were also found to have an increased risk (RR, 1.679; P = 0.005). Age over 65 years, retirement, and employment were found to be protective factors (RR, 0.341 [ P = 0.001]; RR, 0.397 [ P = 0.043]; RR, 0.197 [ P < 0.001]). In contrast, unemployment and unstable housing (unhoused or shelter) were found to have strong harmful risk for necessitating hand infection consults (RR, 7.587 [ P < 0.001]; RR, 235.715 [ P < 0.001]; RR, 29.990 [ P < 0.001]).

There are clear risk factors at play for hand infection incidence. We found that housing status, employment, race, gender, and age were some of the most important contributors for incidence. This information can assist clinicians and public officials in developing more specific screening algorithms and prevention tools to reduce systematic burden. Further studies are required to elucidate specific etiologies associated with hand infection risk.