Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

Pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis is a rare though well known infectious process of the flexor tendon sheath of the hand. This condition is generally diagnosed in adults by the observance of the four Kanavel signs. Application of the Kanavel signs to diagnosis in the pediatric population, however, is of unknown utility. We present the case of a 13-month-old male with pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis who presented with all four of the Kanavel signs.