Injected Drug Addiction-Associated Swollen Hands: A Case Report of Methylamphetamine-Related Unilateral Drug Addiction-Related Puffy Hand Syndrome

Abstract

Puffy hand syndrome occurs in addicts who have injected drugs either intravenously, intradermally, or subcutaneously. It usually presents as bilateral reversible pitting edema of the hands; less frequently, it occurs unilaterally. The forearms and arms may also be affected. The onset of puffy hand syndrome can occur while the patient is still injecting drugs; however, it can initially appear several years after injection of the drug has been discontinued. Infection with hepatitis C is a common comorbidity. A 47-year-old man is described who had a 20-year history of injecting methylamphetamine only into his non-dominant left arm, forearm, and hand and experienced his second episode of unilateral puffy hand syndrome four years after discontinuing injecting the drug and three years after his initial episode; he also had hepatitis C infection. He presented with erythema and pitting edema of his left hand and forearm. Cellulitis was initially suspected, and he was admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics; all cultures were negative for pathogens. The erythema and swelling resolved after five days of therapy. Puffy hand syndrome has been associated with various drugs; it has also been observed to occur in women during pregnancy and occasionally associated with acrocyanosis. The diagnosis is often not originally entertained by the clinician; the condition is often initially treated empirically as an infection. Serologic evaluation is typically negative for rheumatologic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and scleroderma, and cultures of the skin and blood are usually negative for pathogens. Radiologic assessment (such as roentgenograms, ultrasound to rule out venous thrombosis, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, venogram, and lymphangiogram) may be performed, to exclude other conditions. Skin biopsy of the affected edematous hand occasionally demonstrates granulomatous inflammation and foreign bodies (suggestive of starch or injection additives) in the dermis. The edema for some of the patients with puffy hand syndrome was successfully treated with daily bandaging with compression stockings. The pathogenesis of puffy hand syndrome is considered to be multifactorial: damage to the veins, injury to the lymphatic system, and direct toxicity of the injectable drugs to the vascular structures.