Bacterial flexor tenosynovitis in the hand. A series of 68 cases.

The authors report 68 cases of bacterial tenosynovitis (BT) that is the largest international series dealing with this pathology since the introduction of antibiotics. Their study stresses the connection between the quality of the final result and the stage at which the condition is treated. The speed at which the tenosynovitis becomes established depends on the mechanism of infection. One can dissociate BT by direct inoculation with violation of the tenosynovial sheath, from the BT by diffusion through an undamaged sheath. The former progress within a few hours to a few days, the latter slowly in a few days to a few weeks, with a slower onset masked by the clinical signs of the initial infection. They propose a new classification which allows the choice of proper surgical therapy taking into account the type of onset of the BT and the intraoperative findings.