Analysis of 24 patients with Achenbach's syndrome

BACKGROUND: Achenbach’s syndrome is a rare condition, and the etiology is unknown. It is most commonly seen in the volar plate of the hand distal interphalangeal joint. Patients diagnosed with Achenbach’s syndrome in cardiovascular surgery clinic were retrospectively compared with the literature. AIM: To investigate the symptoms, findings, sociodemographic conditions, and laboratory data of patients diagnosed with Achenbach’s syndrome. METHODS: The study is a retrospective review of 24 patients diagnosed with Achenbach’s syndrome at Afyonkarahisar State Hospital between March 2015 and November 2016, at Sivas Numune Hospital between November 2016 and November 2017, and at Cumhuriyet University Cardiovascular Surgery Department between November 2017 and November 2018. In the study, demographic characteristics of the patients, signs and symptoms of the disease, and laboratory data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 83.33% female patients and 16.67% male patients. The disease was most commonly located in the index finger of the right hand. All of the patients complained of bruising and pain. No pathologic findings were present in the laboratory results. According to these results, it can be concluded that Achenbach syndrome is most commonly seen in the right index finger of middle-aged female patients. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to clarify Achenbach’s syndrome and to develop a diagnosis and treatment algorithm. As the awareness of this syndrome increases, large amounts of data will be obtained. According to current knowledge, Achenbach’s syndrome is not among the known causes of mortality or morbidity. However, it is unknown whether it is seen in brain or other vital organs.