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Limb lymphedema results from incompetence of the lymphatic system, and treatment of both primary and secondary forms involves manual lymphatic drainage and support. The effectiveness of treatment varies from patient to patient and can be unpredictable.To investigate clinical and paraclinical criteria able to predict responses to combined physical treatment (lymphatic drainage and multilayered support) during hospitalization.A retrospective study was performed in 45 patients admitted for one week's intensive treatment of limb lymphedema in the Lymphology Unit of the Department of Dermatology of the University Hospital of Tours. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed for all patients on admission. Loss of volume in affected limbs was studied to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.Two criteria were predictive of resistance to combined treatment, i.e. venous insufficiency and continuing lymph node evidence of scintigraphic activity four hours after lymphoscintigraphy. The two factors were significantly related.Failure of combined physical treatment for lymphedema appears to be related to venous insufficiency. It is therefore essential to investigate and treat venous insufficiency, particularly in patients with continuing evidence of scintigraphic activity in lymph nodes.

The objectives of this work were a) to assess the feasibility of lymphoscintigraphy in very young children, and b) to assess its usefulness in understanding the underlying pathophysiology.Forty-one children (age range 3 months-16 years) with primary lymphedema of the lower and/or upper limbs underwent lymphosinctigraphy using 99mTC-labeled colloid (Nanocis or Nanocol) injected subcutaneous at the foot and/or hand level. Recording time, which depended on the child's age, included at least static images during the thirty minutes following injection and four hours later.Abnormal activity of the lymph collectors, nodes, and interstitial space were analyzed according to age (or2 years). Abnormal findings were classed as simple hypoplasia (n=18) or other type of lymph disease: diffuse lymphatic dysplasia (n=6), mixed vascular dysmorphism (n=5), amniotic bride disease (n=1), and hypoplasia revealed by occurrence of a minor factor (n=11). These observations demonstrate the role of lymphoscintigraphy in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of lymphedema in children.Lymphoscintigraphy is a useful technique for very young children with lymphedema providing further information contributing to overall exploration.

The association of manifestations in the mouth and Vitamin B12 deficiency is already known. The signs are not specific to Vitamin B12 deficiency, however they may reveal the deficiency and this is often ignored and leads to delays in diagnosis. We report two cases of Vitamin B12 deficiency revealed by stomatodynia, glossitis and erosions in the mouth.Two women aged 51 and 76 years consulted, one for atrophic glossitis and the other for stomatodynia that had progressed over the past few months. No other symptoms were present. The biological examinations revealed isolated macrocytosis without anemia. Vitamin B12 could not be measured in the serum. The symptoms regressed in less than one month following replacement therapy.As with our two patients, the majority of cases of Vitamin B12 deficiency reported in the literature were only discovered several months or years after their onset, or were treated for other causes. Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to severe neuropathies. The neurological damage is reversible when replacement therapy is initiated early. Since the oral signs appear before the modification in the systemic markers of deficiency, it is crucial that these signs be recognized and diagnosed before the occurrence of severe after effects.

Radiodermatitis after cardiac catheterization procedures has been reported in only a few cases in the literature. This side effect may not however be uncommon after long or repeated endocavitary explorations.We observed a case of chronic radiodermatitis which developed after cardiac catheterization, in a patient treated with corticosteroids and ciprofibrate for lupus. The patient had undergone only one heart catheterization. A second catheterization performed when the patient had stopped ciprofibrate did not provoke new lesions.This observations would suggest that ciprofibrate could participate as a radiosensitizing factor in the development of radiodermatitis.