Rare disease: POEMS syndrome – a unique presentation of a rare paraneoplastic syndrome

doi:10.1136/bcr.09.2010.3324

BMJ Case Rep. 2010; 2010: bcr0920103324.

Published online 2010 December 2. doi: 10.1136/bcr.09.2010.3324

PMCID: PMC3027814

Rare disease

POEMS syndrome – a unique presentation of a rare paraneoplastic syndrome

J Livingston,¹ C Cobiella,² and M A Hall-Craggs³

¹Accident and Emergency Department, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital, Nethermayne, Essex, UK

²Department of Orthopaedics, University College Hospital, London, UK

³Department of Radiology, University College Hospital, London, UK

Correspondence to J Livingston, Email: judithlivingston/at/hotmail.co.uk

Abstract

POEMS (peripheral neuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, skin changes) syndrome is a rare multisystem paraneoplastic disorder. A 40-year-old male with a history of peripheral neuropathy and erectile dysfunction presented with a pathological fracture of the neck of the femur, found to be a solitary plasmacytoma. Additional unusual features included splenomegaly, hyperprolactinaemia and skin changes. The patient had a total hip replacement at a specialist orthopaedic hospital and is due to undergo radiotherapy to the femoral lesion and autologous stem cell transplantation.

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