Abstract
Objective To determine the prevalence of the Linburg-Comstock anomaly in a Brazilian population
sample.
Methods A cross-sectional observational study was carried out between October 2017 and April
2018. We included male and female volunteers aged 18 years or older. The presence
of the Linburg-Comstock anomaly was determined by performing the clinical tests described
by Linburg and Comstock. The data were analyzed using the GraphPad Prism software,
and we considered differences with p < 0.05.
Results The study analyzed 1,008 volunteers (2,016 hands) with a mean age of 38.3 years,
531 (52.67%) of which were male, and 477 (47.33%) were female. The Linburg-Comstock
anomaly was diagnosed in 564 (55.95%) individuals, and it was bilateral in 300 (53.2%)
of them, right-sided in 162 (28.72%), and left-sided in 102 (18.08%). No significant
differences were found when comparing the prevalence between genders. However, a the
prevalence of the right-sided anomaly in the male population (n = 99; 70.21%) was
higher than in the female one (n = 63; 51.21%), with p = 0.0016. In addition, the presence of pain by the maneuver described by Linburg
and Comstock was more prevalent in women (n = 150; 54.94%) than in men (n = 105; 36.08%),
with p = 0.0001. These results show the importance of epidemiological studies on the Linburg-Comstock
anomaly, mainly in order to investigate the presence of associated conditions.
Conclusion The prevalence of the Linburg-Comstock anomaly in the studied population was of 55.95%,
and it was bilateral in 53.2% of the volunteers. The presence of the connection was
observed more frequently in the right side and among men, but the pain symptom was
more frequent among women.
Keywords
congenital hand deformities - finger joint abnormalities - tendons - prevalence -
anatomy
