Thursday, July 30, 2015

Complications

A 60 year old man undergoes a coronary catheterization for unstable angina. He is found to have three vessel disease; there is no intervention and the plan is to refer him to cardiothoracic surgery. His other medical problems are hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. However, after cardiac catheterization, the finding above was noted. His pulses are all normal. The toes are cool and painful but the rest of the foot is warm.

Challenge: What happened?

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1 comment:

Craig said...

Complications

“Blue toe syndrome” is usually due to small vessel rather than large vessel occlusion. This is most likely from emboli of atheromatous material from the aorta due to the catheterization.

Source: UpToDate.