Embolias de colesterol: Caso clínico / Cholesterol embolism: Report of one case

ABSTRACT

We report a 72 year-old male, that after a coronary angiogram presented pain, reduced distal skin temperature of both limbs, cyanosis of toes with preserved peripheral pulses and a rapidly progressive renal failure. Afterwards, the patient suffered a sudden bilateral amblyopia and hematochezia. Cholesterol embolism was confirmed with a skin biopsy and fundoscopy. A colonoscopy showed a possible ischemic colitis. After six months of follow up, the patient lost the distal phalanges of three toes, and renal failure stabilized, with a serum creatinine of 2.5 mg/dl. The diagnosis of cholesterol embolism is often missed, but it has a one year mortality of 80 percent and the presence of renal failure is the main prognostic indicator. Other prognostic indicators are the presence of high blood pressure, previous renal failure and peripheral artery disease.