Abstract

Assessment of the distal neurological status after injuries to the hand and fingers is one of the most frequent parts of standard trauma practice. Two-point discrimination as clinical examination is often sufficient to identify such lesions, but difficulties occur in the comatose, young or otherwise uncooperative patient. This article describes a simple pain-free alternative method of assessing digital nerve integrity by submerging the finger tip in water and observing if wrinkles develop on the skin.