[Blue toes and kidney insufficiency].

Three patients, two women aged 73 and 70 and one man aged 58 years, were known with hypertension and (or) coronary disease. They developed renal insufficiency and purple toes due to cholesterol crystal embolisation. In two of the three patients invasive procedures (femoropopliteal bypass surgery and replacement of the aortic valve, respectively) had provoked the embolisation process. Growing awareness of symptoms such as purple toes is important as the increasing use of intravascular procedures will lead to higher incidence of this syndrome with renal insufficiency as the most severe clinical complication.