Clinical manifestations of 4 cases of' pachydermodactyly

Objective To investigate the clinical manifestations of pachydermodactyly. Methods Four patients with pachydermodactyly were enrolled and their clinical presentations and laboratory tests were ana-lyred. Results The mean disease onset age ranged from 16 to 22. Three of them were male,one was female. Clinical presentations included chronic asymptomatic soft tissue swelling of proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints. No abnormal results were found in laboratory tests. X-ray showed only soft tissue swelling. MRI of the PIP showed no articular damage. And the histopathology showed increased dermal accumulation of collagen fibers. Conclusion Paehydermodactyly is benign. It is important to recognize and diagnose this disease without mis-take it for rheumatoid arthritis or other arthritis involving PIP joints. Key words: Pachydermodactyly;  Diagnosis ;  Diagnositic errors