True and false acrocyanoses

Abstract Acrocyanosis is an acrosyndrome frequently found among adolescent or young women. Four clinical symptoms are necessary and sufficient to establish the diagnosis: permanent and painless cyanosis of extremities, local hypothermia, permanent sweatiness, and elastic infiltration of the integument. In practice, only one investigation is useful but not indispensable: capillaroscopy which visualizes capillarovenular stasis. Numerous clinical forms have been described, but they are exceptions, but for supramalleolar erythrocyanosis. Treatment is mainly preventive: protection against cold. Two conditions can be regarded as false acrocyanosis: acrorhigosis and acroiodesis.