Nippon Medical School

Erythromelalgia associated with Clitocybe acromelalga intoxication.

Erythromelalgia is a rare disorder characterized by reddening, severe burning pain, and swelling of the extremities. Food poisoning by Clitocybe acromelalga, a poisonous mushroom, is known to induce erythromelalgia; however, its treatment protocol remains unclear. We describe here three cases of erythromelalgia following the consumption of C. acromelalga with varying clinical courses. Of the three patients, the first patient presented 22 days after the onset of erythromelalgia; although he was treated with aspirin, numbness in the limbs persisted as sequela. Patient 2 presented at 3 days after the symptomatic onset and was immediately treated with high-dose intravenous nicotinic acid, with a dramatic symptomatic improvement. Patient 3, who had milder symptoms, spontaneously recovered within a week without any treatment. The clinical manifestations and varying clinical courses associated with C. acromelalga toxicity are discussed here, with the pathogenesis of this mycotoxin and a potential treatment. Detailed interviews of such patients are important, particularly because of the remarkably slow course of this mycotoxin as compared with common food poisonings. Treatment with intravenous nicotinic acid was associated with improvement in one patient. We believe that this painful disorder might thus be treatable, although the mechanism underlying the treatment remains unclear.

Therapeutic potential of nicotinic acid in erythromelalgia associated with Clitocybe acromelalga intoxication.

Successful thoracoscopic sympathectomy for primary erythromelalgia in the upper extremities.

Erythromelalgia is known as a rare syndrome of unknown etiology, characterized by redness with burning pain, edema associated with increased skin temperature in the upper and/or lower extremities. Various treatments such as drug therapies and sympathetic blockade were reported. We report two cases including a 57-year-old woman and a 64-year-old woman, showing the successful clinical outcome by bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy.

[Nerve block therapy for intractable pain: 3 cases of erythlomelalgia].

Erythromelalgia is a rare condition that is characterized by the triad of redness, increased temperature, and intense pain of feet or hands. This syndrome was first described in 1878, however, universal classification, precise mechanism and successful medical treatment of erythoromelalgia have not been described. We experienced 3 cases of erythomelalgia in our outpatient pain clinic that showed the different progress. One patient experienced the long-term pain complicated with neuropathic pain. The pain of other two patients was eliminated early by nerve block treatments, and they did not showed chronic pain. From the prophylactic viewpoint of chronic pain, the most considerable matter is early and certain elimination of severe pain under certain diagnosis. In this article, the mechanisms of passing into the chronic pain state as well as the efficacy of neural blockade for intractable pain such as erythromelalgia are discussed.