New epidemiological aspects of patients with severe hyperhidrosis presenting for sympathetic surgery

Autor: Peter Panhofer, D Karimian-Teherani, Johannes Zacherl, Raimund Jakesz, Claudia Ringhofer, Christoph Neumayer, G Bischof, M Prager
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. 23:651-655
ISSN: 1468-3083
0926-9959
Popis: BACKGROUND Epidemiological data on individuals suffering from severe primary hyperhidrosis are scarce. OBJECTIVE This study aims to prospectively assess disease-specific characteristics of patients with severe, mostly therapy-resistant hyperhidrosis presenting for sympathetic surgery. METHODS We evaluated a total of 227 patients (69.6% women) with a mean age of 30 years (standard deviation, 9.5 years) using a standardized questionnaire. Severity of disease was rated on a visual analogue scale (VAS) graded between 0 (no symptoms) and 10 (worst symptom). Age, sex, previous therapies, hormonal therapies and body mass index were analysed for their possible influence on severity of the disease and on hyperhidrosis sites. In addition, allergies were investigated for the first time in this patient population. RESULTS There was a positive correlation between age of onset and sites of hyperhidrosis. The most commonly affected areas were palmar-axillary-plantar (51.1%) and palmar-plantar (15.0%), with sex-specific differences. Two hundred and twelve patients (93.4%) had previous conservative therapies; 219 patients (96.5%) reported VAS scores between 8 and 10. Female patients stated higher VAS scores for palmar (P = 0.009) and axillary (P = 0.012) sites. Type IV allergies were found to be much higher than in the general Austrian female population. Hormonal therapies and the body mass index had no influence on severity of hyperhidrosis after analysis of VAS scores. CONCLUSION Sex-dependent aspects can be found in patients strongly affected by primary upper limb hyperhidrosis.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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