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Self‐inflicted tourniquet paralysis mimicking acute demyelinating polyneuropathy
Author(s) -
Storm S.,
Weiss M. D.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.10366
Subject(s) - medicine , tourniquet , paralysis , polyneuropathy , complication , surgery , anesthesia , presentation (obstetrics) , amputation
Tourniquet paralysis is an uncommon complication of surgery, and self‐inflicted tourniquet paralysis has never been documented to our knowledge. We report a patient with bilateral self‐induced tourniquet paralysis of the lower extremities, whose symptoms were initially attributed to an acute demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy based on clinical presentation and electrodiagnostic study. After investigations failed to reveal a cause, he was found to have placed tourniquets on his legs because of a rare obsession with limb amputation known as apotemnophilia. Significant spontaneous partial resolution of clinical symptoms was noted after 6 weeks. Electrophysiologic evidence of segmental demyelination of multiple motor nerves localized to the same region may help to distinguish this condition from other forms of acute demyelinating polyneuropathy. Muscle Nerve 27: 631–635, 2003