A 52-year-old woman presented to the emergency department (ED) with a 4-month history of recurrent painful blisters on her fingertips and the tips of her toes (FIGURE 1), arthralgias, painful discoloration of her distal toes and fingers when exposed to cold, and painful nodules on her forearms. She was started on prednisone and was sent to our clinic for follow-up.
At her initial visit to our office, she was continued on prednisone and referred to Rheumatology and Interventional Cardiology, where a work-up for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and other vasculitides was negative. The patient had normal arterial pressures and a normal echocardiogram. An angiogram revealed segmental occlusions of the distal vessels in her arms and legs. The patient denied chest pain, syncope, dyspnea on exertion, or fever. She reported a >30 pack-year history of cigarette smoking.