Sunday, March 2, 2008

Sunday March 2, 2008

Q; 37 year old male admitted to ICU with inability to walk and severe pain in lower extremities. On examination in ER, he was found to have cold feet. No pulses were palpable even in femoral area. Previous record available in hospital computer shows outpatient visits to urology clinic for 'impotency' ?


Answer: Leriche's syndrome

Leriche's syndrome is a triad of

  • absent or diminished femoral pulses,
  • intermittent claudication (pain with walking) and
  • penile impotence.

It usually affects males caused by atheromatous involvement or occlusion of the abdominal aorta by a thrombus just above the site of its bifurcation. Onset usually between 30 and 40 years of age. Treatment is surgical.





Leriche Syndrome: Coronal reconstruction from a contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scan shows complete occlusion of the infrarenal aorta (red arrow) by thrombus that extends into both common iliac arteries (yellow arrows). The white arrow points to calcification in the wall of the vessel.


Reference: click to get abstract / article

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