Protrusion of the thumb beyond the clenched fist is almost always found in chil dren with Marfan's syndrome.
In a random pediatric population studied, 1.1 per cent of the whites and 2.7 per cent of the Negroes had this finding but not the syndrome. Hence the sign has limited value as a screening test.
Because the sign is not present in homo cystinuria it may be clinically useful in dis tinguishing between this condition and Mar- fan's syndrome.
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References
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Packer, A.S. and Hare, H.F.: Arachnodactyly. Radiology45: 220, 1945.
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Steinberg, I. : A simple screening test for the Mar-fan syndrome . Amer. J. Roentgen.97: 118, 1966.
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McKusick, V.A. : Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue. St. Louis, C. V. Mosby Co., 1966 .
