What Are Clubbed Fingers?

Clubbed fingers (also known as digital clubbing or Hippocratic fingers) is a condition involving a deformity of the finger or toe nails in most cases associated with serious diseases, such as:

• lung diseases (lung cancer, tuberculosis, interstitial lung disease, mesothelioma),
• heart diseases (hypoxia, congenital heart disease, tetralogy of Fallot),
• gastrointestinal diseases (Chron’s disease, cirrhosis, malabsorption).

In very rare cases there seems to be no medical explanation for this condition.

Symptoms of Clubbed Fingers

The changes of the nails may happen in a short period of time and may include:

• fluctuation and softening of the nail bed,
• increase convexity of the nail fold,
• shiny aspect,
• increase of the normal angle between the nailbed and cuticula and
• thickening of the end part of the finger

Diagnosis of Clubbed Fingers

An appointment with the doctor is recommended at the earliest opportunity if any signs of clubbing appear. The doctor will carry out a physical examination and may request further computerized analysis for a more accurate diagnosis.