Findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect
Painful neuropathy with skin denervation after prolonged use of linezolid
1 National Taiwan University Hospital, Neurology, No. 7 Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan, Province of China
2 National Taiwan University Hospital, Internal Medicine, No. 7 Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan, Province of China
3 National Taiwan University Hospital, 7 Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan, Province of China
Correspondence to:
shsieh{at}ntu.edu.tw
The prolonged use of linezolid, a new antibiotic against drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens, might cause painful neuropathy. This finding raises the possibility that small-diameter sensory nerves in the skin, which are responsible for transmitting nociceptive information, might be affected. We report a 53-year-old female who developed pure small-fibre painful neuropathy (visual analogue scale, VAS =82 on 0–100 scale) with marked skin denervation in the leg (epidermal nerve density, END =2.32 fibres/mm, norm <5.88 fibres/mm) and significant elevation of the warm threshold in the foot (40.0°C, norm <39.4°C) after the use of linezolid for 6 months. Eight months after the discontinuation of linezolid, the skin became fully reinnervated (END =9.04 fibres/mm), with disappearance of neuropathic pain (VAS =0) and normalisation of the warm threshold (36.3°C). Nerve conduction studies for large-diameter motor and sensory nerves were normal. This report documents a pure small-fibre sensory neuropathy after prolonged use of linezolid, and the relationship between skin innervation and corresponding neuropathic pain.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
- Full Text
- Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
-
Drugs: infectious diseases
-
Neurology
-
Clinical neurophysiology
-
Pain (neurology)
-
Peripheral nerve disease
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full text of all Editor's Choice articles and summaries of every article are free without registration
The full text of Images in ... articles are free to registered users
Only fellows can access the full text of case reports (apart from Editor's Choice) - become a fellow today, or encourage your institution to, so that together we can grow and develop this resource
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the case reports as they are published, and let us know what you think by commenting on the Editor's blog
