Dactylitis (hand-foot syndrome)

Dactylitis is a severely painful condition affecting the bones of the hands, the feet, or both. Dactylitis is often the first symptom of sickle cell disease in babies and is caused by blocked blood circulation.

About half of infants born with sickle cell disease have at least one episode of dactylitis by the age of 2 years. Dactylitis generally occurs during the first 4 years of life.¹

Symptoms of dactylitis include extreme pain and tenderness, usually with swelling. An episode may last for 1 or 2 weeks.

Days after an occurrence of dactylitis, imaging tests such as an ultrasound may show signs of damage to the bones.

Citations

1. Beutler E (2006). Disorders of hemoglobin structure: Sickle cell anemia and related abnormalities. In MA Lichtman et al., eds., Williams Hematology, 7th ed., pp. 667–700. New York: McGraw-Hill.