Thrombophlebitis migrans as a footprint of Buerger’s disease: a prospective–descriptive study in north-east of Iran

Abstract

The pathogenesis of thrombophlebitis migrans is as unknown as the etiology of Buerger's disease (BD). In the past, thrombophlebitis migrans was a major criterion used in the diagnosis of BD, whereas today it is not as important as before and it is often forgotten to be asked about from patients with BD. In this project, during a 22-month prospective study on 86 patients suffering from BD, 65.4% had the history or sign of thrombophlebitis migrans, which in 25.6% of them, it was the first presentation of the disease and in 4.7% of them, it was the main cause of complaint. Thrombophlebitis migrans had initially occurred 9 years before the patient showed any sign of the disease (with the time range of a maximum of 22 years and a minimum of 4 months). In 45% of patients who had recommenced cigarette smoking, thrombophlebitis migrans occurred about 1-4 months before the new onset of their acute ischemic signs. Superficial thrombophlebitis migrans can be considered as a warning sign for BD onset in Asian young male smokers. With regard to the variety in the clinical feature and localization of appearance of thrombophlebitis migrans in the studied patients and its unknown pathogenesis, there should be more studies and researches toward understanding the nature of BD and thrombophlebitis migrans as its footprint.