Erythromelalgia in a patient with AIDS

Erythromelalgia is a clinical syndrome characterized by burning pain in the extremities together with erythema and increased skin temperature. Typical ly, the patients experience relief from sold, and aggravation from warmth. Symptoms are hypothesized to be caused by arteriovenous shunting and reduce d nutritive skin capillary perfusion with corresponding tissue hypoxia. Ery thromelalgia is most often primary, but may be secondary to a wide variety of diseases. We report erythromelalgia in a patient with acquired immune de ficiency syndrome (AIDS). At peak pain intensity he actively cooled hands a nd feet for more than 12 h/day. Many doctors handling human immunodeficienc y virus/AIDS patients are unfamiliar with erythromelalgia, and the conditio n can easily be overlooked, especially the more common milder cases.