Patient-reported triggers of primary hyperhidrosis.

Treatment of hyperhidrosis

Effectiveness of Bilateral Clipping of the Thoracic Sympathetic Chain for the Treatment of Severe Palmar and/or Axillary Hyperhidrosis and Facial Flushing

Efectividad de la interrupción de la transmisión nerviosa de la cadena simpática torácica bilateral con clip para el tratamiento de la hiperhidrosis palmar y/o axilar severa y el rubor facial

FUNDAMENTOS: Bloqueio simpático videotoracoscópico no tratamento da hiper-hidrose é realizado por clipagem do tronco simpático, com possibilidade de reversão em casos de sudorese compensatória intensa. OBJETIVO: Avaliar sucesso terapêutico, satisfação e sudorese compensatória nos pacientes submetidos a essa técnica. MÉTODO: Estudo prospectivo em que 45 pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos. Grupo I: um paciente com hiper-hidrose palmar e 20 com hiper-hidrose palmar e plantar submetidos a bloqueio de T3; Grupo II: quatro pacientes com hiper-hidrose axilar , dois com hiper-hidrose axilar e palmar, dois com hiper-hidrose axilar e plantar e 16 com hiperidrose axilar, palmar e plantar submetidos a bloqueio de T3 e T4. RESULTADOS: No grupo I 95,2% dos pacientes tinham hiper-hidrose palmar e plantar, e no grupo II 66,7% tinham hiperidrose axilar, palmar e plantar. Na região palmar, resultados excelentes ou bons ocorreram em 95,3% do grupo I e em 94,4% do grupo II; na região plantar 40% do grupo I e 44,5% do grupo II apresentaram bons resultados; e na região axilar, 95,8% relataram resultados excelentes ou bons. Em seis meses, havia sudorese compensatória em 76,2% do grupo I e 91,7% do grupo II, mas a sudorese compensatória intensa ocorreu em apenas três pacientes do grupo II. CONCLUSÕES: Esse tratamento foi eficiente para o tratamento da hiper-hidrose. Ao final de seis meses, todos os pacientes do grupo I e 95,9% dos pacientes do grupo II estavam satisfeitos com os resultados.

Primary hyperhidrosis of the upper limbs is a common and troublesome condition in Taiwan. Therefore, we present our experience in treating hyperhidrosis via uniportal endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. Between April 1993 and March 2000, a total of 2000 patients underwent endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for treatment of palmar or axillary hyperhidrosis. There were 1520 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis and 480 patients with axillary hyperhidrosis. There were 788 male and 1212 female patients, with a mean age of 22.9 years (range, 9-60 yr). All patients were placed in a semi-sitting position, with single-lumen-intubation anesthesia. We performed T2 sympathectomy at the second and third rib beds for patients with palmar hyperhidrosis, using an 8-mm, 0-degree, offset thoracoscope (Karl Storz GmbH & Co., Tuttlingen, Germany), via a 0.8-cm incision below each axilla. Similar procedures were used for T3 and T4 sympathectomies at the third, fourth, and fifth rib beds for patients with axillary hyperhidrosis. Questionnaires were sent to all patients after surgery. Among these 2000 patients, successful bilateral sympathectomies were performed for 1992 patients. The operations were usually completed within 20 minutes (range, 10-30 min). Most patients were discharged within 4 hours after surgery. The surgical complications were minimal, including pneumothorax (10 cases, 0.5%), segmental atelectasis (7 cases, 0.35%), hemothorax (2 cases, 0.1%), and mild wound infections (2 cases, 0.1%). There were no surgery-related deaths. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 51.7 months (range, 6-89 mo). A total of 1720 patients (86%) developed compensatory sweating of the trunk and lower limbs. The recurrence rates for palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis after surgery were 0 and 4.1% in the first year, 0.1 and 8.2% in the second year, 0.5 and 10.4% in the third year, 0.6 and 14.1% in the fourth year, and 1.3 and 16.7% in the fifth year, respectively. Uniportal endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is a safe, effective method for the treatment of patients with palmar or axillary hyperhidrosis. For surgery, both a semi-sitting position and single-lumen-intubation anesthesia are recommended.

Objective To investigate the effects of individualized nursing care on postoperative negative mood and cellular immune function of patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis. Methods From March 2015 to August 2016, according to the principle of completely random digital table, a total of 60 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis who were treated with thoracic sympathetic modulation in the First Hospital of Jiaxing were divided into observation group and control group, with 30 patients in each. The patients in the control group received routine nursing care, while the patients in the observation group had been treated with individualized nursing care before surgery besides the routine nursing care. Patients' venous blood samples were taken for the percentage of blood T lymphocyte subsets and CD4+/CD8+ ratio in both groups at 4 time points: T0 (24 hours before the operation) , T1 (24 hours after operation) , T2 (48 hours after operation) , and T3 (72 hours after the operation) . In addition, the changes of negative mood such as anxiety and depression were observed and compared between the two groups by SCL-90. Results Compared with T0, the scores of somatization, paranoia, anxiety, depression and hostility of the two groups were significantly lower at T1, T2 and T3, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the scores of somatization, paranoia, anxiety, depression and hostility of the observation group were significantly lower at T1, T2 and T3 (P<0.05) . Compared with T0, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ were significantly increased and CD8+ significantly decreased at T1, T2 and T3 in both groups (P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ were significantly increased and CD8+ significantly decreased at T1, T2 and T3, respectively (P<0.05) . Conclusions Personalized nursing care can effectively improve postoperative anxiety, depression and other negative emotions and cellular immune function of the patients with primary hyperhidrosis, it is worthy of further clinical promotion. Key words: T-lymphocyte subsets; Anxiety; Depression; Individualized nursing care; Primary palmar hyperhidrosis

Primary hyperhidrosis is a disorder of excessive, bilateral and relatively symmetrical sweating occurring in the palms, soles and axillae regions without obvious etiology. There have been some reports of the epidemiology of primary hyperhidrosis abroad so far, but there has never been any research performed in Japan. We performed a questionnaire survey for people aged 5-64 years who agreed with the purpose of this study at 20 companies or schools, and received 5807 valid responses. From this survey, each prevalence could broken down into 5.33% for primary palm hyperhidrosis, 2.79% for primary plantar hyperhidrosis, 5.75% for primary axillae hyperhidrosis and 4.7% for primary head hyperhidrosis. Patients with severe symptoms were estimated to be approximately 616,000 for primary palmar hyperhidrosis and 2,239,000 for primary axillae hyperhidrosis in Japan. These findings reveal that many patients feel a decreased quality of life because of symptoms of hyperhidrosis every day. However, only 6.2% of the patients had visited medical institutions. Moreover, few patients take appropriate treatment even after visiting the hospital.

During recent years, thoracoscopic sympathectomy has been the standard treatment for hyperhidrosis. Different surgical techniques have been described without proving their advantages compared with other procedures. This study was designed to evaluate our modification of thoracoscopic sympathectomy and to compare the effectiveness between axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis. Ninety patients with axillary or palmar hyperhidrosis who underwent bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy with single-lumen ventilation with a dual 5-mm port approach were followed up for a median of 3.9 (range, 1-6) years. The clinical course and data during the hospitalization and consultation in our outpatient clinic were reviewed. The following parameters were evaluated: clinical improvement, satisfaction, changes in quality of life, and compensatory sweating and gustatory sweating. The perioperative mortality was 0, and the morbidity was 6.5%. In 81% clinical improvement of sweating was noticed; 55% did not sweat at all. A total of 88% of patients were satisfied with the result of the operation. The rates of compensatory sweating and gustatory sweating were 93.5% and 49.4%, respectively. The result of sympathectomy in patients with palmar hyperhidrosis were significantly better concerning rate of satisfaction (p = 0.006) and improvement of symptoms (p = 0.027) compared with patients with axillary symptoms. Additionally it was found that the compensatory sweating had significantly impacted the satisfaction rating of the operation. Currently different effective surgical approaches for the treatment of hyperhidrosis with improvement rates of more than 80% are available. The quality of the intervention has to be evaluated by changes in quality of life and intensity of compensatory sweating. Thoracoscopic sympathectomy as performed in our institution offers results and complications comparable to previously published trials; however, because of single-lumen ventilation the management is much easier. Therefore, this technique offers an interesting option for the treatment of patients with palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis.

Transthoracic endoscopic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis and Raynaud's phenomenon

Migraine is a neurological disorder with recurrent headaches accompanied by burdens in social life. Primary palmar hyperhidrosis is a chronic condition with excessive sweating of the palms that can significantly impair quality of life. Primary hyperhidrosis can cause anxiety, and stress, including anxiety, is the most common inducer of migraine headaches. Recently, oxybutynin has been used for primary palmar hyperhidrosis. We herein describe a 26-year-old female migraine patient with primary palmar hyperhidrosis whose migraine attacks and burdens were attenuated after the prescription of an oxybutynin lotion formula. The patient's monthly headache days (MHD) and monthly acute medication intake days (AMD) at the first visit were 10 and 9. Headache Impact Score 6 (HIT-6) at the initial visit was 63. After the prescription of Japanese herbal kampo medicine Goreisan (TJ-17), Goshuyuto (TJ-31), and 200 mg of valproic acid, MHD, AMD, and HIT-6 decreased gradually. However, these parameters could not improve sufficiently at nine months: MHD 4, AMD 4, and HIT-6 52. We first prescribed a lotion formulation of 20% oxybutynin hydrochloride at nine months. After this, migraine was further attenuated, and stress related to primary palmar hyperhidrosis was reduced; at 12 months, the patient had achieved MHD 2, AMD 2, and HIT-6 48. She will continue receiving primary palmar hyperhidrosis treatment while tapering off migraine prophylaxis. While the exact mechanisms connecting migraine and primary hyperhidrosis remain uncertain, this case raises important questions about the potential interplay between stress, sweating, and migraine triggers.

Background: Primary hyperhidrosis is a sympathetic disorder characterized by prolonged and uncontrollable sweating. It is associated with emotional stress or psychological causes that preferably affects the axillae, palms, feet, and face. Video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathetic surgery is currently a globally recognized treatment for primary palmar hyperhidrosis (PH). However, compensatory sweating (CS) is the most prominent long-term adverse effect of thoracoscopic sympathectomy. Objectives: Here, we aim to perform selective sympathetic ramicotomy for primary palmar hyperhidrosis patients and evaluate the clinical outcomes of satisfaction, as well as the effect on the frequency, location, and severity of compensatory sweating. Methods: In this single-arm trial study, 24 sympathectomies were carried out on 12 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis who were candidates for bilateral thoracoscopic selective sympathectomy (ramicotomy) at Imam Khomeini Hospital. The patients’ demographic information was interviewed and followed up using telephone questionnaires in the health center one week after surgery. Then, the rates of compensatory sweating, satisfaction, and failure or recurrence were retrospectively analyzed. Results: No significant differences were observed between age, gender, weight, BMI, and compensatory sweating rates. Notwithstanding, there was a statistically significant difference in the severity of compensatory sweating with patients’ height (P = 0.016). Compensatory sweating occurred in 66.7% of the patients; 50% of the patients were mild, 16.7% of the patients were moderate, and there was no intolerable compensatory sweating or recurrence. The most incidence of compensatory sweating was on the lower back. The rate of satisfaction was 94.5 ± 7.8%. Conclusions: Selective thoracoscopic sympathectomy (ramicotomy) is an effective surgical procedure with a very high level of precision and satisfaction. This technique hence should be considered the method of choice for the treatment of primary palmar hyperhidrosis.

The Multi-Specialty Working Group on the Recognition, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Primary Focal Hyperhidrosis has developed evidence-based consensus criteria for diagnosing primary hyperhidrosis (PHH). To validate new questionnaire items for self-reported classification of PHH based on the consensus criteria and to estimate the prevalence of PHH. This was a cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study. Questionnaires containing the index tests and reference tests were distributed to blood donors at blood banks between June and December 2021 in Region Zealand, Denmark. The index tests were the two questions 'Have you had troublesome sweating?' and 'Have you ever had troublesome sweating?', which were used to create six single-item algorithms for classifying PHH. The reference test comprised the consensus criteria. Overall, 1071 (95.9%) of 1083 eligible blood donors completed the index tests. The reference test classified 59 participants as having PHH and 980 as not having PHH, generating a prevalence of 5.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4-7.3]. The algorithms with the highest combined sensitivity and specificity were algorithm 2 with a sensitivity of 0.94 (95% CI 0.77-0.99) and specificity of 0.94 (95% CI 0.92-0.95), and algorithm 5 with a sensitivity of 0.94 (95% CI 0.80-0.99) and specificity of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90-0.94). With high diagnostic accuracy, these items allow for the identification of individuals with and without PHH, which may prove useful in epidemiological research. Validation in the general population is warranted.

A randomized placebo-controlled trial of oxybutynin for the initial treatment of palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis

The aim was to analyse patterns of failure or symptom recurrence after primary sympathectomy for palmar or axillary hyperhidrosis, and to carry out tactical problem-solving for resympathectomy and review the operative findings. Over a 2-year period, 20 patients (six men and 14 women) underwent resympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis (13 patients, 20 sides) or axillary hyperhidrosis (seven patients, ten sides). T2-3 sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis or T4-5 sympathectomy for axillary hyperhidrosis was performed during the repeat procedure. Criteria for evaluation by means of patient questionnaire included good (more than 80 per cent), fair (50-80 per cent) and poor (less than 50 per cent) improvement. Operative findings included inadequate sympathectomy on 19 sides, nerve regeneration on eight sides and no evidence of previous sympathectomy on three sides. One patient had Kuntz fibre in addition to inadequate sympathectomy. In the palmar hyperhidrosis group, good results were obtained in all 13 patients on all 20 sides after resympathectomy. In the axillary hyperhidrosis group, six of seven patients, or eight of ten sides, showed good results after resympathectomy. The main cause of primary sympathectomy failure was inadequate surgery, and recurrence of palmar or axillary hyperhidrosis was seldom caused by nerve regeneration. The key factor for preventing failed sympathectomy or recurrent palmar or axillary hyperhidrosis is a first-time sympathectomy that is both accurate and adequate. Most patients with recurrent symptoms can be cured by resympathectomy.

Aim: Palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis is caused by overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system that control the sweat glands. This study compares the clinical consequences of uniportal and multiportal thoracic endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS), in cases of severe palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis.Methods: In this retrospective study, forty-one patients who were diagnosed as severe palmar and axillary primary hyperhidrosis were analyzed. These underwent multiportal ETS between 2015 and 2020 at our thoracic surgery clinic. They were divided into two groups, 24 as uniportal (58.5%) and 17 as multiportal (41.5%). They were compared in terms of the length of hospital stay, the initial complications and possible recurrences after three months. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate stratified and continuous variables.Results: There was no significant difference in moderate pain between the two groups. There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of 3 days or more hospitalization. There were no significant difference related to the rate of complications such as ptosis, Horner syndrome, increased duration of surgery and recurrence rate of hyperhidrosis 3 months after surgery. Some mild to moderate side effects disappeared spontaneously at 6-month follow-up.Conclusion: The results showed that uniportal and multiportal endoscopic thoracoscopic sympathectomy (EST) are very effective, safe and minimally invasive methods for the treatment of palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis. Compared to the multiportal approach, uniportal EST causes less postoperative pain and less surgical duration.