Theoretically, it can (among other things) act prophylactically against ulcerative changes of the lower limbs associated with chronically decompensated diabetes. Patients with measurable impairment in arterial supply are more likely to benefit from adjunctive treatment with pentoxifylline. The administration of higher doses of pentoxifylline in hospitalization for complications of distal diabetic neuropathy is usually conditioned by the joint agreement of the neurologist with the physicians of internal medicine (diabetology and angiology). Adverse effects
Common side effects are belching, bloating, stomach discomfort or upset, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, dizziness, and flushing. Uncommon and rare side effects include angina, palpitations, hypersensitivity, itchiness, rash,  hives, bleeding, hallucinations, arrhythmias, and aseptic meningitis.Contraindications include intolerance to pentoxifylline or other xanthine derivatives, recent retinal or cerebral haemorrhage, and risk factors for haemorrhage. Mechanism
Like other methylated xanthine derivatives, pentoxifylline is a competitive nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor which raises intracellular cAMP, activates PKA, inhibits TNF and leukotriene synthesis, and reduces inflammation and innate immunity. In addition, pentoxifylline improves red blood cell deformability (known as a haemorrheologic effect), reduces blood viscosity and decreases the potential for platelet aggregation and blood clot formation. Pentoxifylline is also an antagonist at adenosine 2 receptors. Research
There is some evidence that pentoxifylline can lower the levels of some biomarkers in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis but evidence is insufficient to determine if the drug is safe and effective for this use. Animal studies have been conducted exploring the use of pentoxifylline for erectile dysfunction and hearing loss.
Shortly after the Lady Windermere syndrome was proposed, a librarian wrote a letter to the editor of Chest challenging the use of Lady Windermere as the eponymous ancestor of the proposed syndrome. In the play, Lady Windermere is a vivacious young woman, married only two years, who never coughs or displays any other signs of illness. While her avoidance of shaking hands might be interpreted as "fastidiousness", two alternative explanations may be just as probable:

1) Lady Windermere actually is in the midst of arranging flowers and consequently cannot properly greet her guest:[LADY WINDERMERE is at table R., arranging roses in a blue bowl. ]2) Lady Windermere wishes to discourage the flirtatious advances of her would-be suitor Lord Darlington and cites her wet hands as an excuse to keep him from touching her:LADY WINDERMERE. Lord Darlington, you annoyed me last night at the Foreign Office. I am afraid you are going to annoy me again. . . .LORD DARLINGTON. [Takes chair and goes across L.C.] I am quite miserable, Lady Windermere. You must tell me what I did. [Sits down at table L.]LADY WINDERMERE. Well, you kept paying me elaborate compliments the whole evening. ]The scholars highlight the literary malapropism, but some in the medical community have adopted the term regardless, and peer-reviewed medical journals still sometimes mention the Lady Windermere syndrome, although it is increasingly viewed as a limiting and sexist term for a serious bacterial infection.