Although vibration syndrome (VS) is now a well-known clinical entity and a legally described disease, many clinical and legal aspects aspects remain confused. Furthermore, complete reliance by the physician on the patient's own history of white finger and related symptoms in the absence of reliable and repeatable objective test for impairment determination has explained the reluctance to accept this professional disease .
The purpose of this paper, based on a review of 405 cases of Raynaud's phenomennon, of which 210 were vibration syndrome, is to help medical officers in assessing VS. It reviews some clinical facts essential to an adquate diagnosis and some factors of severity and reversibility. A simple staging is the harbinger of a proper assessment for legal estimation of impairment.
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