Conservative treatment of pediatric trigger thumb: follow-up for over 4 years

Abstract

We analyzed the outcomes of our conservative treatment for pediatric trigger thumb. Since March 2004, we have used conservative treatment for all patients with pediatric trigger thumb. We prospectively analyzed 30 patients in whom 35 thumbs were affected (10 right, 15 left, 5 bilateral). The mean age at diagnosis was 28 (11–50) months. The treatment consisted of passive exercises performed by the children’s mothers, 10–20 times daily. How reliably this was performed is unproven. Trigger thumb severity was graded as 0A (extension beyond 0°), 0B (extension to 0°), 1 (active extension with triggering), 2 (passive extension with triggering), and 3 (cannot extend either actively or passively i.e. locked). At diagnosis, six of the 35 thumbs (17%) were grade 1, 25 (71%) were grade 2, and four (11%) were grade 3. After a mean follow-up period of 63 (range, 49–73) months, 28 thumbs (80%) were grade 0A or 0B, 5 (14%) were grade 1 and 2 (6%) were grade 2. The bilateral cases and the patients who initially had grade 3 severity had significantly more unfavorable results than the other patients. This study suggests that conservative treatment for pediatric trigger thumb is a successful method, although cases that present with bilateral involvement or locking (grade 3) should be considered for early surgical release.