title: Pachydermodactyly--just a sign of emotional distress.
abstract: Pachydermodactyly (PDD) is a benign, asymptomatic soft tissue swelling affecting the skin of the lateral aspects of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers II-IV, mostly in young adolescent males, and could be interpreted as a consequence of tic-like behaviour as an obsessive-compulsive disorder in male adolescents. The differential diagnosis includes numerous diseases; a rapid clinical recognition of PDD would avoid many useless and expensive diagnostic tests. There is no effective medical treatment for PDD, but discontinuation of the tic-like mechanical traumatisation generally leads to a marked amelioration of the finger swelling. In this article we review the world literature, which contains 87 additional cases on this topic.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, University Hospital of Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. hbeltraminelli@uhbs.ch
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beltraminelli
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Itin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004487:Edema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005350:Fibroma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D006227:Hand Deformities, Acquired / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*