Pheochromocytoma as a Cause of Blue Toes

In a recent issue of theArchives, O'Keeffe and coworkers¹reviewed the causes and management of the blue toe syndrome. In this interesting and well-written article, an extended list of causes of cyanotic lesions of the toes is provided. Recently, we treated a patient with a rare and less known cause of blue toes.

Report of a Case.

A 41-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of blue discoloration of three toes of the right foot after some days of itching and pain at the same location. These complaints lasted over 1 week, after which the right small toe even became purplish to black. The discoloration disappeared spontanously in about 10 days; local discomfort, however, remained. Non—insulin-dependent diabetes was diagnosed 20 years before and treated with diet and insulin. Metabolic regulation was considered well; microvascular complications were absent. The blue coloration of her toes had tremendously worried this