Dupuytren's or palmar fasciitis?

Dupuytren's isn't the only problem which can affect the fascia of the palm. Inflammation of the palmar fascia (palmar fasciitis) may be due to less common problems, and differs from typical Dupuytren's in that it is usually painful. The difference between Dupuytren's and palmar fasciitis is similar to the difference between Ledderhose disease and plantar fasciitis - they are completely different problems which happen to affect the same stucture. Palmar fasciitis may be part of a syndrome associated with arthritis, as reported in "Idiopathic Palmar Fasciitis with Polyarthritis Syndrome" (full text: http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/2006_Sung.pdf), a problem following trauma as discussed in this hand surgery book exerpt (text: http://bit.ly/9Srduf) or part of a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with malignancy as reported in "Palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis as a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with tubal carcinoma: a case report" (full text: http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/2004_Denschlag.pdf). Fortunately or not, Dupuytren's is much more common than any of these conditions, but it is important to keep these in the list of possible diagnoses when evaluating a case of Dupuytren's which doesn't fit the typical picture.