[Osseous changes in the foot bones in patients with arterial occlusion and simultaneous polyneuropathy (author's...

The present article evaluates 26 cases with arterial occlusion and additional polyneuropathy in diabetes mellitus or chronic alcohol addiction. For comparison, a group of 30 patients with arterial occlusion without neurologically detectable polyneuropathy were also evaluated. It is pointed out that the osseous changes in the foot bone region are due to the additionally existing polyneuropathy and cannot be explained alone by an avascular bone necrosis in arterial vascular occlusion. Changes in the sense of an arthropathy occur in our group of patients even in case of unilateral arterial occlusion, these changes occurring bilaterally in the foot bones; after reconstruction measures in the arterial vascular system, these arthropathic changes in the foot bones continue to advance in case of persisting polyneuropathy.