Clinical features and treatment on 21 cases of POEMS syndrome

Abstract

Objective To improve the recognition in clinical features,diagnosis and treatment of POEMS syndrome.Method Twenty-one cases of POEMS syndrome were analyzed retrospectively.Results The major clinical features were shown as follows: 21 cases of polyneuropathy, organomegaly, edema and skin changes, 13 cases of monoclonal plasma proliferative disorder, 19 cases of endocrinopathy, 1 case of sclerotic bone lesions, 1 case of Castleman disease,5 cases of papilledema.Conclusions POEMS syndrome is a rare multi-system damage disease.Screening for POEMS syndrome with serum protein electrophoresis, immunofixation electrophoresis,electromyogram and radionuclide bone scanning are essential for all patients with unexplained peripheral neuropathy or multi-system damage.If the index of suspicion is high enough, bone marrow cytomorphologic examination or biopsy with immunohistochemical staining may be required,in order to make an early diagnosis and try to avoid misdiagnosis and mistherapy. Key words: POEMS syndrome; Polyneuropathies; Skin changes; Monoclonal plasma cells