MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Clubbing of the fingers or toes

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Clubbing of the fingers or toes

Contents of this page:
Illustrations Alternative names Definition Considerations	Common Causes Home Care Call your health care provider if What to expect at your health care provider's office

Illustrations

Clubbing

Clubbed fingers

Alternative names Return to top

Clubbing

Definition Return to top

Clubbing is a broadening and thickening of the fingers or toes with increased lengthwise curvature of the tip of the nail, and flattening of the angle between the cuticle and nail.

Considerations Return to top

Clubbing is associated with a wide number of diseases, although it is most often noted in diseases of the heart and lungs that cause decreased blood oxygen and skin blueness (cyanosis), or lung cancer. Clubbing can also be associated with diseases of the liver and the gastrointestinal tract. It may also occur in families without signifying an underlying disease.

Common Causes Return to top

Congenital heart disease (cyanotic type)
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Tricuspid atresia
- Transposition of the great vessels
- Total anomalous venous return
- Truncus arteriosus
Cystic fibrosis
Bronchiectasis
Lung abscess
Crohn's disease
Celiac disease
Cirrhosis
Lung cancer
Pulmonary fibrosis

Home Care Return to top

There is no specific treatment for the clubbing itself. Home care depends on the specific diagnosis.

Call your health care provider if Return to top

If you notice clubbing, call your health care provider. However, this is a relatively late symptom, and other earlier symptoms have usually occurred that require the attention of your health care provider.

What to expect at your health care provider's office Return to top

A person with clubbing generally has other symptoms and signs (usually heart and lung disease) that, when taken together, define a specific syndrome or condition. Diagnosis of that condition is based on the family history, medical history, and thorough physical evaluation.

Medical history questions documenting clubbing in detail may include:

When did you first notice this?
Does it affect the fingers, toes, or both?
Has it been becoming more noticeable?
What other symptoms are also present?
Is there any breathing difficulty?
Is the skin ever bluish colored?

The physical examination may include thorough assessment of the chest and breathing.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed are:

Chest x-ray
Chest CT scan
EKG
Echocardiogram
Arterial blood gas
Pulmonary function tests

After seeing your health care provider, you may want to add a diagnosis related to clubbing to your personal medical record.

Update Date: 1/27/2004

Updated by: Allen J. Blaivas, D.O., Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University Hospital, Newark, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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