[Painful swollen joints with weakness: what's behind all this? Case 1/2013].

HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS: We report on a 58-year-old patient with weight loss, weakness and polyarthralgia. She reported of recurrent drops, painful joints and muscle weakness.

INVESTIGATIONS: The patient had swollen joints, clubbing and cachexia. The radiogram of the hands and feet showed a hypertrophic oseoarthropathy. In further investigations we found a tumor in the upper left lung. The histology findings showed a adenocarcinoma of the lung.

DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND COURSE: The diagnosis of a secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (Pierre Marie-Bamberger syndrome) due to a adenocarcinoma of the lung was made. The patient refused a radiochemotherapy and decided to go on vacation. Further course is unknown.

CONCLUSIONS

Arthralgia is a common symptom for medical consultation. Pierre Marie-Bamberger syndrome is a rare cause of paraneoplastic arthritis. Notice that unspecific symptoms like weakness, weight loss and arthritis may result from paraneoplastic tumor disease.