| Title | Limb-threatening ischemia due to ergotamine: case report with angiographic evidence. | | Author(s) | Salvesen R, Prytz JF | | Institution | Department of Neurology, University of Tromso, Nordland Sentralsykehus, Bodo, Norway. | | Source | Headache 2000 Apr; 40(4):320-3. | | MeSH | Adult
Chronic Disease
Ergotamine
Female
Headache
Humans
Ischemia
Leg
Vasoconstrictor Agents
| | Abstract | A 29-year-old woman presented with severe leg pain that had lasted for several weeks. During that period, she had taken painkillers in order to achieve sleep. In the week before she was admitted to hospital, she had noticed numbness and a cold feeling below her knees. There were no arterial pulsations below her groin, the skin of her legs being cold and pale. She had a history of chronic daily headache and had ingested Cafergot compound corresponding to ergotamine 2 to 3 mg daily for the previous 2 or 3 months. Angiography demonstrated severe narrowing of both superficial femoral arteries for a distance of about 5 to 6 cm and a subtotal stenosis of the right popliteal artery. After discontinuation of ergotamine, the patient's symptoms gradually disappeared within a few days. Angiography was repeated 2 days after the first examination and demonstrated regression of the spasms in the femoral arteries and reestablished flow in the distal vessels. Ergotamine tartrate can induce life-threatening ischemia of an extremity. Discontinuation of ergotamine is usually sufficient to reverse the ischemia, however, intravenous infusion of sodium nitroprusside may occasionally be necessary to avoid limb amputation. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Case Reports
Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 10759938 |
|
