A 43-Year-Old Man with a Painful, Purulent Finger

The patient is a 43-year-old male who presents with a painful collection of pus near his fingernail. He reported that it had developed over the past day. On examination, a large, yellow-green superficial pus collection was seen at the proximal nail fold with surrounding erythema and edema. The patient mentioned that he had a home renovation business and that it was common for him to experience mild injuries such as splinters on his hands. The patient was immunocompetent and was not currently on any medications.

View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.