title: [Cryoglobulinemia in a Tunisian internal medicine department].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cryoglobulinemia is characterized by multiple organ involvement, mainly including the skin, liver, kidneys, and peripheral nerves. Our aim was to investigate the demographic, clinical, and serologic features, as well as survival in a group of 16 Tunisian patients with cryoglobulinemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 12 women and 4 men, and their mean age was 41 years. In all but two, the cryoglobulinemia was associated with another disease. These included lupus for 9, Sjögren syndrome for 2, and polyarteritis nodosa for one. They also included infectious diseases: 3 patients with hepatitis B virus infection, one with hepatitis C virus infection, one with parvovirus B19, and another with lymph node tuberculosis. Only one case of lymphoproliferative disease was noted. General symptoms were present in 81% of the patients, cutaneous vasculitis in 43%, peripheral vascular-Raynaud phenomenon in 37%, joint polyarthralgia or arthritis in 62%, renal involvement in 68%, neuropathy in 25%, lung involvement in 56%, gastrointestinal involvement in 37%, and finally cardiac involvement in 31%. In some cases it was difficult to determine if the clinical signs were attributable to cryoglobulinemia or the underlying pathology. The course was favorable under treatment for 5 patients, while 7 patients became sicker and 5 finally died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cryoglobulinemia is underdiagnosed. Treatment depends on the severity of the lesions and the underlying disease.
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Boukhris
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azzabi
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chérif
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ben Hassine
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaouech
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle de Tunis, université de Tunis El Manar, service de médecine interne B, hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kooli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003449:Cryoglobulinemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014416:Tunisia; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Tunisie; cryoglobulinemia; hepatitis C; systemic lupus erythematosus; vasculitis