Raynaud's phenomenon: primary and secondary causes.

The terms "Raynaud's disease" and "Raynaud's phenomenon" are often used interchangeably, as if they were a single problem. Because prognosis and therapy are different with each of these entities, 86 patients with episodic digit ischemia were evaluated over the past five years. All patients were evaluated similarly with plethysmography, angiography, and other studies for underlying causes of the digital ischemia. From the study, it was concluded that the majority of the patients had an underlying cause for the problem even though they satisfied the commonly accepted criteria for the diagnosis of Raynaud's disease. It is clear that the diagnosis of Raynaud's disease must be one of exclusion, because it is more uncommon than is generally appreciated by the medical community.