title: [A man with acute, painless swelling of the hand].
abstract: A 48-year-old man visited the hand surgery outpatient clinic with acute, painless swelling of the dorsal side of the right hand and fingers. We found erythema and crepitations of the skin. Laboratory tests showed no signs of infection. After X-ray and echography of the hand we made the diagnosis subcutaneous emphysema. It was caused by a microtrauma with high pressure air.
authors.affiliation: VU Medisch Centrum, afd. Plastische Chirurgie & Traumachirurgie, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Rinse J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Meester
authors.forename: Michael W J
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ritt
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Bloemers
mesh_terms: D000399:Air Pressure; D004487:Edema; D004890:Erythema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013352:Subcutaneous Emphysema / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology