Treatment of finger ischemia with Bier block reserpine

Fourteen patients with severe Raynaud symptoms, including four patients with ulceration of the fingers, were treated by regional medical sympathectomy achieved by the tourniquet controlled intravenous injection of reserpine. Nine of the patients had significant objective clinical improvement which, in each patient, correlated with the demonstration of vasospasm on pretreatment studies. The five patients without improvement had advanced organic obstructive arterial disease without vasospasm.