J Korean Pain Soc.  2003 Dec;16(2):228-233.

Hypereosinophilic Syndrome with Peripheral Polyneuropathy: A case report

• Jo D
• Ryu K
• Kim M
• Lee Y

Abstract

Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a rare leukoproliferative disorder, which is marked by a sustained overproduction of eosinophils, and a propensity to damage multiple organs, including the heart, nervous system, skin, bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract, etc. Of the neurological manifestations of HES, peripheral polyneuropathy accounts for half. Here, the case of a 48-year-old woman, who had eosinophilia and suffered from peripheral polyneuropathy, colitis and retinopathy, is reported. She presented at our clinic with numbness and sensory loss of the lower limbs, of one months duration, and severe pain in the left upper limb for a day. As the eosinophilia was sustained with symptoms and signs of multi-organ involvements, including the peripheral polyneuropathy shown on the electromyography, and there was no other apparent cause of the eosinophilia, it was acceptable that the series of manifestations were due to HES. She responded to prednisone, 1 mg/kg/day, as an initial treatment, but relapsed within 2 months upon tapering. Again, she responded well to a second course of prednisone treatment, without tapering, but is still under observation.

Keyword

Hypereosinophilic syndrome; Peripheral polyneuropathy

MeSH Terms

Bone Marrow
Colitis
Electromyography
Eosinophilia
Eosinophils
Female
Gastrointestinal Tract
Heart
Humans
Hypereosinophilic Syndrome*
Hypesthesia
Lower Extremity
Middle Aged
Nervous System
Neurologic Manifestations
Polyneuropathies*
Prednisone
Skin
Upper Extremity
Prednisone