CONCLUSION
Busy health care providers must be aware that approximately 10% to 15% of the negative outcomes in patient care result from diagnostic errors and are most common in the internal medicine, family medicine, and emergency medicine clinical environments.9 With hand and finger lacerations, small size can give a provider a false sense that the laceration is minor, resulting in a failure to diagnose a deeper injury (eg, tendon or nerve).1
When evaluating a traumatic injury or laceration to the hand or fingers, it is important to conduct a thorough sensory and motor examination. Experts recommend light touch and 2-point discrimination be included in the sensory exam to avoid missing nerve injuries. If a deeper structural injury is suspected, the patient should be referred to hand surgery and the wound surgically explored.2