Raynaud's phenomenon of fingers and toes among vibration-exposed patients.

Abstract

Eleven patients with Raynaud's phenomenon of the toes as well as the fingers were encountered among about 1,000 vibration-exposed patients. They consisted composed of four chain-saw operators, five rock drillers, a stone quarrier and a welder in a shipyard. All the cases were examined carefully for differential diagnosis, but there were no particular abnormalities in hematological, immunological and homodynamic examinations. The rock drillers, quarrier and welder had direct vibration exposure of the foot, which was considered to be responsible for their Raynaud's phenomenon of the toe. Four chain-saw operators, who had been little exposed to vibration of the foot directly, were examined further on skin temperature of fingers and toes every three hours except at night and in a 30-min cold provocation test at 5 degrees C. The skin temperature of both their fingers and toes was lower than in age-matched healthy controls. The chain-saw operators started to work in the 1960's and early in the 1970's, when the chain saw vibration level was high. It is, hence, considered that they were exposed to strong vibration of the hand from chain saws, and then suffered severe Raynaud's phenomenon of both fingers and toes.