Sympathetic Block for Treating Primary Erythromelalgia

Abstract

Primary erythromelalgia is a rare condition that's characterized by erythema, an increased skin temperature and burning pain in the extremities. The pain is often very severe, and treating erythromelalgia is frustrating and difficult. We report here on the case of a 12-year old girl with primary erythromelalgia in both lower extremities. The pain was refractory to medical treatment, but a bilateral sympathetic block with lidocaine and triamcinolone resulted in relief from the pain. Our experience with this disease demonstrates that sympathetic blocks are effective in improving the symptoms and they may be attempted on erythromelalgia patients who do not respond to other treatments, including medication and epidural blocks.