Long-term functional outcome of trigger finger

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the long-term functional outcomes of trigger finger (TF) as perceived by the patient.

Methods: Three study groups were included in the study: prolonged follow up TF group (at least 1-year post-treatment) (PF-TF), patients with acute TF and a control group. The first group was recruited retrospectively and included all patients who were diagnosed with TF in one orthopedic clinic and were contacted by phone, 109 agreed to participate. The acute TF and healthy controls participated in a previous controlled study. The Quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) and numeric pain scale (NPS) were the main outcome measures.

Results: Both TF groups reported significantly higher levels of disability, particularly in activities requiring strength and more severe pain in comparison with the control group. The acute TF group reported significantly higher levels of disability and pain than the PF-TF group. Seventy-two percent of acute TF group reported moderate to severe pain, in comparison with 37% of the PF-TF group.

Conclusion: According to these data, substantial long-term disability and pain persist in both the acute and chronic settings.

• Implications for rehabilitation

• Recovery from TF may be a prolonged process and a long term follow up should be considered in clinical practice.

• The present study found that TF leads to significant disability, therefore, activity and participation should be addressed in practice.

• Assessment of TF interventions should include outcomes that address the client's perspective using standardized measures of disability, such as the QuickDASH.