Reference no: EM133748411

Question

A healthy, 17-year-old, right-hand-dominant, male high school football player fell after being tackled, injuring his right index finger because of contact with the ground. On the field, a coach was reported to have applied a commercially available cooling gel pack, wrapping it around the athlete's finger directly on the skin with an elastic wrap. The patient did not recall being instructed to remove it and believed that leaving it on could only help. After 2 hours, he removed the cooling pack and noticed that his index finger and the radial half of his uninjured middle finger were red and swollen. He did not experience any pain at the time. He was evaluated that same day in a local emergency department where radiographs of the finger showed no bony injury or other condition, and he subsequently was diagnosed with a low-grade sprain of the right index finger. Per family report, the skin appeared intact at the time. Generic discharge instructions for managing sprains that detailed icing techniques were provided. The patient did not apply any more cold to the affected area after evaluation in the emergency department. On the next day, he noticed that his right index finger and the border.