[Acro-osteolysis (acro-osteopathia ulcero-mutilans) in a worker exposed to vapours of synthetics (author's transl)].

The neuro-cutaneo-osseous syndrome of "sporadic" acrosteolysis (of Bureau-Barrière), localized to the ends of the feet, has occasionally been seen in workers engaged in the polymerization of vinyl chloride, A case of the disease is described in a 42-year-old worker exposed to different vapours during the manufacture of plastic products, but he had never worked with vinyl chloride. Outstanding signs were dysproteinaemia, moderate thrombocytopenia, while symptoms of Raynaud's disease as well as scleroderma-like changes in hands and feet (typical of vinyl chloride disease) were absent. The onset of the osteolytic and ulcerative process corresponded to prolonged exposure to cold on the job. It is, therefore, assumed that there was concealed chronic intoxication with synthetic vapours which, in connection with cold exposure and other individual factors, may have aided in the manifestation of the disease. It is possible that under certain conditions synthetics other than vinyl chloride may contribute to the occurrence of sporadic cases of acro-osteolysis.