Trousseau's sign

[troo-sōz´]

1. spontaneous peripheral venous thrombosis, suggestive of visceral carcinoma, especially carcinoma of the lung or gastrointestinal tract.

2. a sign for tetany in which carpal spasm can be elicited by compressing the upper arm and causing ischemia to the nerves distally.

Trousseau's sign. From Polaski and Tatro, 2000.

See illustration.

Trousseau's sign

A sign of latent TETANY. A SPHYGMOMANOMETER cuff is applied to the upper arm and inflated. Within 4 minutes the forearm muscles go into spasm. (Armand Trousseau, 1801–67, French physician).

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

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References in periodicals archive

[1] The pathognomonic feature of acute hypocalcaemia is tetany (typified by a Trousseau's sign) and is usually preceded by paraesthesia (peri-oral and acral), increased neuromuscular irritability (Chvostek's sign) and muscle cramps.

An unexpected acute coronary syndrome

Physical examination of someone with hypocalcemia may show tetany, but it is also possible to provoke tetany of the facial muscles by tapping on the facial nerve (a phenomenon known as Chvostek's sign) or by using the cuff of a sphygmomanometer to temporarily obstruct the blood flow to the arm (a phenomenon known as Trousseau's sign in latent tetany).

Hypoparathyroidism presenting with predominant GI symptoms with dyselectrolytemia

The physical examination of the patient, who had lost more than 10% of her body weight (6 kg) in one month, revealed a positive Chvostek's sign and a negative Trousseau's sign. The results of the laboratory examination were as follows: serum calcium 6.8 mg/dL (8.2-10.5 mg/dL); phosphorus 4 mg/dL (2.5-4.8 mg/dL); albumin 3.6 g/dL (3.5-5.2 g/dL); parathormone (PTH) 144.7 pg/mL (15-65 pg/mL); 25-hydroxy vitamin D 25(OH)D 9 ng/mL (<10 ng/ml indicates severe deficiency); potassium 3.5 mEq/L (3.5-5.5 mEq/L); hemoglobin 11.8 g/dL; hematocrit 37.5%; ferritin 20.92 ng/mL (5-148 ng/mL); and vitamin B12 193 pg/mL (193-982 pg/mL).

Celiac disease presenting with vitamin D deficiency and low bone mineral density in the puerperium / lohusalik doneminde D vitamin eksikligi ve dusuk kemik mineral yogunlugu ile ortaya cikan Colyak hastaligi