Acute Digital Ischemia In a 30-Year Old Man: A Case Report

Abstract

Objective: To report a rare case of acute digital ischemia at a young man.
Methods: A 30-year old man presented with painful bluish discoloration of the toes and palpable pedal pulses.
Results: Physical evaluation and urgent angiography revealed a severe stenosis of the right common iliac artery. Treatment started with a low molecular weight heparin for fifteen days and completed with a bilateral common iliac artery angioplasty after two months.
Conclusion: Blue toe syndrome is considered a relatively frequent manifestation of limb ischemia, especially in elderly patients. Treatment is based on surgical or percutaneous elimination of the source of embolisation and restoration of arterial perfusion. In this case report, we present an unusual case of blue toe syndrome caused by a severe common iliac artery stenosis at a 30-year-old male patient. Blue toe syndrome is a rare manifestation of peripheral arterial disease at younger patients, but physicians should be aware of this in order to include it in the differential diagnosis of acute lower limb ischemia.