Spontaneous bruising finger

A 41-year-old female presented with an acute color change of her right 4th finger. The patient reported typing on a keyboard 10 minutes prior, when she noticed a sudden pop at the base of her right 4th finger. Afterward, she noticed a cool sensation and numbness to the entire finger. Minutes later, her finger turned purple, so she came to the emergency department for evaluation. She denied pain, issues with movement, trauma, or other complaints. She had a similar issue once in the past, which self-resolved a few months prior. On examination of the right hand, there was diffuse ecchymosis with swelling across the palmar surface of the 4th finger and decreased sensation to light touch without tenderness. The ecchymosis did not extend into the palmar surface of the hand (Figures 1 and 2). There was full range of motion at both the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints. The remainder of the examination was normal.

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest to disclose.

The paper has been previously presented at Clinical Images Exhibit, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting 2023, Austin, Texas, May 15–18, 2023.