Abstract

Buerger disease or thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is a thrombotic occlusive, non-atherosclerotic segmental inflammatory disease that affects the small and medium-sized arteries and veins in the extremities of the limbs, frequently requiring amputation. Cessation of tobacco use is the only known effective treatment, though preliminary results from the use of pharmacological therapy implicated in pathogenesis of TAO have demonstrated noticeable clinical improvement of patients. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman with active TAO, refractory to smoking cessation and conventional therapy, who exhibited a favorable clinical response to treatment with bosentan, an oral dual endothelin receptor antagonist, administered on a compassionate-use basis. Six months after starting bosentan therapy, the pain and trophic lesions in the patient's toes had completely disappeared. Bosentan was well tolerated, without any observed adverse reaction. The findings of this case report suggest that bosentan may be considered a therapeutic option for patients with active disease, despite quitting smoking, or for those who fail in absolute abstention from smoking.