Emergency Medical Minute9 Jun 2025

Episode 960: Frank's Sign - A Marker for Coronary Artery Disease

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD
Educational Pearls

Frank's sign is a curious physical exam finding first described in the literature in 1973
- Bilateral earlobe creases are recognized as a marker of coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease
Some studies have found an increase in all-cause mortality in patients with bilateral diagonal earlobe creases
The pathophysiology is still not fully understood
- One 2020 study found histopathological changes associated with diagonal earlobe creases, potentially linking them via a model of hypoxia/reoxygenation

References

Elliott WJ, Karrison T. Increased all-cause and cardiac morbidity and mortality associated with the diagonal earlobe crease: a prospective cohort study. Am J Med. 1991;91(3):247-254. doi:10.1016/0002-9343(91)90123-f
Nazzal S, Hijazi B, Khalila L, Blum A. Diagonal Earlobe Crease (Frank's Sign): A Predictor of Cerebral Vascular Events. Am J Med. 2017;130(11):1324.e1-1324.e5. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2017.03.059
Stoyanov GS, Dzhenkov D, Petkova L, Sapundzhiev N, Georgiev S. The Histological Basis of Frank's Sign. Head Neck Pathol. 2021;15(2):402-407. doi:10.1007/s12105-020-01205-4

Summarized & Edited by Jorge Chalit, OMS4

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