Relationship between Symptoms and Complication of Buerger's Disease with Cold Sensitivity Rate and Seasonal Distribution of Patients Referred to Shohada Hospital during 2001-2008

Introduction & One of the earliest signs of Buerger's disease is cold sensitivity and increased pain with cold. In this study, we evaluated cold sensitivity and seasonal variation of Buerger's disease in patients admitted to Shohada hospital during 2001-2008. In this Descriptive study of the patients with Buerger's disease who were admitted to Shohada Hospital, 205 patients were selected sequentially. All the information were extracted using medical records. The mean age of patients was 45.96±13.08 years old. Among them 96.1% were male and 92.7% active smoker. Season of initiation of first signs of Buerger's disease, were 39.5% in winter, 30.2% autumn, 17.6% in spring and 12.7% in summer. At first presentation, 82.9% had ischemic ulcerations, 13.7% had gangrene and 32.2% had surgical amputation. Most of our patients showed the first signs of Buerger's disease in the seasons of winter and autumn. These patients had cold sensitivity and increased pain with cold. It seems that, smoking cessation, medication therapy and sympathectomy results in decreasing the symptoms and signs of the reffered referral patients.