Nail clubbing, also known as digital clubbing or clubbing, is a deformity of the finger or toe nails associated with a number of diseases, mostly of the heart and lungs. When it occurs together with joint effusions, joint pains, and abnormal skin and bone growth it is known as hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.
What does finger clubbing indicate?
Clubbed fingers is a symptom of disease, often of the heart or lungs which cause chronically low blood levels of oxygen. Diseases which cause malabsorption, such as cystic fibrosis or celiac disease can also cause clubbing. Clubbing may result from chronic low blood-oxygen levels.
What causes respiratory clubbing?
Finger clubbing may be caused by respiratory diseases including:
- Bronchiectasis (destruction and widening of the large airways)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
- Cystic fibrosis (thick mucus in the lungs and respiratory tract)
- Lung abscess.
- Lung cancer.
What are the causes of clubbing?
Some of the most common conditions known to cause clubbing include the following:
- Lung disease. Conditions that reduce lung function can reduce circulating oxygen levels and trigger clubbing.
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Chronic liver disease.
- Chronic gastrointestinal conditions.
- Metabolic diseases.
- Some medications.
- Trauma.
Can clubbing be normal?
1 Clubbing may also be a normal, inherited trait. The diagnosis is made primarily through observing the fingers, and most commonly alerts a healthcare provider to order further studies such as a chest computerized tomography (CT) scan and more. The treatment will depend on the underlying cause of the clubbing.
Can nail clubbing be harmless?
Although clubbing itself is harmless and doesn’t require treatment, it is often associated with health conditions that can worsen without treatment.
How do I stop my fingers from clubbing?
The only way to prevent clubbing is by taking steps to prevent and manage the underlying conditions that cause it. For example, you can: reduce your risk of lung cancer by avoiding tobacco smoke and limiting your exposure to toxins in the workplace.
How do you know if you have clubbed fingers?
There’s a simple way you can spot it, says Bupa UK’s Emma Norton. It’s called the Schamroth window test and involves putting your nails together to see if there’s a diamond-shaped space between your cuticles. If there isn’t a space, this is a sign of finger clubbing.
Does COPD cause finger clubbing?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) per se does not cause clubbing, but if clubbing is present in COPD, underlying lung cancer and bronchiectasis must be ruled out.
Can fingernails show signs of heart disease?
Fingernails: Possible problems Nail clubbing is sometimes the result of low oxygen in the blood and could be a sign of various types of lung disease. Nail clubbing is also associated with inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and AIDS.
What are the grades of clubbing?
It can be graded into 5 stages i.e. Grade 1: fluctuation and softening of the nail bed, Grade 2: increase of the hyponychial angle, Grade 3: accentuated convexity of the nail, Grade 4: clubbed appearance of the fingertip, and Grade 5: development of a shiny or glossy change in nail and adjacent skin1.
Can pneumonia cause digital clubbing?
Although some cases can be inherited or idiopathic, acquired nail clubbing can be a sign of systemic disease, especially pulmonary disease (e.g., malignancy, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, emphysema) or, less often, cardiovascular disease (e.g., congestive heart failure, congenital heart defects, atrial myxoma) or
How is clubbing diagnosed?
The Schamroth window test can be used to identify or confirm clubbing. If 2 opposing fingers are held back to back against each other, a diamond-shaped space should normally appear between the nail beds and the nails of the 2 fingers. In clubbing, this space (or window) is missing.
What is the cause of digital clubbing?
Digital clubbing has classically been associated with chronic infections such as bronchiectasis, lung abscess, empyema, pulmonary tuberculosis, and infective endocarditis. Both inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn disease more than ulcerative colitis) and chronic liver disease have been associated with clubbing.
Can you reverse nail clubbing?
No specific treatment for clubbing is available. Treatment of the underlying pathological condition may decrease the clubbing or, potentially, reverse it if performed early enough. Once substantial chronic tissue changes, including increased collagen deposition, have occurred, reversal is unlikely.