Limb infarction
A limb infarction is an infarction of an arm or leg. It may cause skeletal muscle infarction, avascular necrosis of bones, or necrosis of a part of or an entire limb.
Skeletal muscle, the major tissue affected, is actually considerably resistant to infraction because its ability to rely on anaerobic metabolism by glycogen stored in the cells, which may supply the muscle tissue long enough for any clot to dissolve, either by intervention or the body's own system for thrombus breakdown. In contrast, brain tissue doesn't store glycogen, and the heart is so specialized on aerobic metabolism that not enough energy can be liberated by lactate production to sustain its needs[1].
Causes
Arterial embolisms commonly lodge in the extremities. Another cause of limb infarction is skeletal muscle infarction as a rare complication of long standing, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.[2]
Symptoms
Early symptoms of an arterial embolism in the arms or legs appear as soon as there is ischemia of the tissue, even before any frank infarction has begun. Such symptoms may include:
- Coldness in a leg, arm, hand or fingers[3][4]
- Decreased or no pulse in an arm or leg beyond the site of blockage[3][4]
- Pain in the affected area[3][4]
- Muscle spasm in the affected area[3]
- Numbness and tingling in an arm or leg[3][4]
- Paleness (pallor)[4][3] of the skin of the arm or leg
- Muscle weakness of an arm or leg,[3][4] possibly to the grade of paralysis[4]
Later symptoms are closely related to infarction of the tissue supplied by the occluded artery:
- Blisters of the skin in the affected area[3]
- Shedding of skin (desquamation)[3]
- Skin erosion (ulceration)[3]
- Discoloration (mottling[4], cyanosis[4] or darkening[3]) of the skin following necrosis. The discoloration usually has a distinct demarcation at the blockage.[4]
A major presentation of diabetic skeletal muscle infarction is painful thigh or leg swelling.[2]
Diagnosis
In addition to evaluating the symptoms described above, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred test for diagnosing skeletal muscle infarction.[2]
Treatment
Oxygen consumption of skeletal muscle is approximately 50 times larger while contracting than in the resting state.[5] Thus, resting the affected limb should delay onset of infarction substantially after arterial occlusion.
In the legs, below the inguinal ligament, percutaneous aspiration thrombectomy is a rapid and effective way of removing thrombi in thromboembolic occlusions.[6] In the arms, balloon thrombectomy using a Fogarty catheter is an effective treatment.[7] Because of the high recurrence rates of thromboembolism, it seems necessary to administer anticoagulant therapy as well.[7]
References
- ^ Ganong, Review of Medical Physiology, 22nd Edition.Specialized form of muscle that is peculiar to the vertebrate heart.p81
- ^ a b c Grigoriadis E, Fam AG, Starok M, Ang LC (2000). "Skeletal muscle infarction in diabetes mellitus". J. Rheumatol. 27 (4): 1063–8. PMID 10782838.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k MedlinePlus > Arterial embolism Sean O. Stitham, MD and David C. Dugdale III, MD. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD. Reviewed last on: 5/8/2008. Alternative link: [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j MDGuidelines > Arterial Embolism And Thrombosis From The Medical Disability Advisor by Presley Reed, MD. Retrieved on April 30, 2010
- ^ Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts > Myocardial Oxygen Demand Richard E. Klabunde, PhD
- ^ Oğuzkurt L, Ozkan U, Gümüş B, Coşkun I, Koca N, Gülcan O (2010). "Percutaneous aspiration thrombectomy in the treatment of lower extremity thromboembolic occlusions". Diagn Interv Radiol. 16 (1): 79–83. doi:10.4261/1305-3825.DIR.2654-09.1. PMID 20044798.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Magishi K, Izumi Y, Shimizu N (2010). "Short- and long-term outcomes of acute upper extremity arterial thromboembolism". Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 16 (1): 31–4. PMID 20190707.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)