The Case of the Red Extremities

A 37-year-old man with severe obstructive sleep apnea presented to the emergency department with burning pain, redness and swelling in his hands and feet, worsening for several weeks. Pertinent laboratory studies revealed polycythemia. Erythromelalgia is a clinical diagnosis characterized by painful...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine 2022-02, Vol.6 (1), p.83-96
Main Authors: Abarikwu, Kelechi, Komara, James S, Urumov, Andrej
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical medicine
Edema
Emergency medical care
Erythema
Images in Emergency Medicine
Medicine
Sleep apnea
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A 37-year-old man with severe obstructive sleep apnea presented to the emergency department with burning pain, redness and swelling in his hands and feet, worsening for several weeks. Pertinent laboratory studies revealed polycythemia. Erythromelalgia is a clinical diagnosis characterized by painful burning, erythema, warmth, and edema usually involving the distal extremities. Therapeutic goals are focused on symptom reduction, while also managing the underlying condition in cases of secondary erythromelalgia. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies have proven to be of limited success.
ISSN:2474-252X
2474-252X
DOI:10.5811/cpcem.2021.10.52891