Diabetic Muscle Infraction: An Unusual Cause of Muscle Pain in a Diabetic Patient on Hemodialysis

Abstract

Diabetic muscle infarction (DMI) is a rare, painful and potentially serious complication in patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and frequently misdiagnosed clinically as abscess, neoplasm, or myositis. A 36-year-old diabetic woman referred to our clinic with severe pain in the left antero-medial thigh. She had a 15-year history of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). She was complicated by diabetic nephropathy and requiring hemodialysis. She had first noticed pain and swelling in her left thigh after a minimal trauma for 2 days prior to presentation. Clinical and laboratory evaluation, and muscle biopsy revealed the diagnosis of muscle infarctions. She did no respond to the conservative therapy. Pain and swelling in her thigh worsened progressively. She underwent surgical debridment and then, her clinical status improved. We describe the characteristic clinical and pathologic findings and the course of the illness with emphasis on the importance of recognition of the syndrome so that unnecessary investigation and overzealous therapy can be avoided.