[Vibratory angioedema]

Abstract

Background: Vibratory angioedema is a rare form of physical urticaria. This entity can be an hereditary autosomal dominant disorder or an acquired sporadic disease. Immediate and delayed forms have been reported.

Case-report: A 34-year-old woman was referred to us for a vibratory angioedema induced by mountain biking. Despite her handicap, she could provoke a clinical tolerance with disappearance of pruritus but not of erythema and edema if she continued her physical effort. Diagnosis was confirmed with a vibratory stimulus using a Vortex for 5 minutes. The realization of a controlled vibratory stimuli among 20 volunteers induced a positive response in 7 cases (35 p. 100).

Discussion: These results raise the problem of the specificity of the test but also point out the possible physiological response of the body to intense vibratory stimulations.