M Hammoudeh, I Khanjar, S Mehdi, Diabetic Muscle Infarction -an Often Missed Complication. 2003; 23(6): 394-396 Diabetic muscle infarction (DMI), or myonecrosis, is an uncommon and often missed complication of diabetes. It occurs in both types of diabetes, but more often in type 1 and appears to be attributable to microangiopathy. It has a characteristic clinical presentation, including acute onset of painful swelling most commonly in the thigh or calf muscles in the absence of systemic manifestation. It is frequently misdiagnosed clinically as neoplasm, abscess, focal myositis, or deep vein thrombosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is extremely helpful in making the diagnosis and excluding other possibilities. It usually improves gradually to complete resolution within weeks to a few months. The two cases described emphasize the importance of early recognition and diagnosis of this complication to avoid an unnecessary intervention or hazardous treatment.
CaseCase 1. A 62-year-old female patient presented with a three-day history of pain and swelling of the left leg, which had gradually increased over the last 24 hours prior to admission. There was no history of trauma, fever or previous history of similar episodes. She had had diabetes mellitus type 2 for 22 years and had been on insulin therapy for the last 5 years. She also had had hypertension for 4 years and had developed diabetic nephropathy 2 years ago. On physical examination the left calf muscle was swollen and tender, but the foot was neither swollen nor tender. A presumptive diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was made and she was treated with heparin. Laboratory investigation revealed WBCs of 10,700/ mm 3 with 85% granulocytes, creatinine 2.4 mg/dL, and creatinine kinase 340 IU/L (normal up to 170 IU/ L). Doppler ultrasound of the calf, done on the next day, showed edema of the gastrocnemius muscle with no evidence of DVT. Arterial Doppler study showed significant obstruction of the anterior tibial artery. MRI of the legs (Figure 1) showed swelling and high signal intensity in T2-weighted images in the left gastrocnemius and soleus muscles with subcutaneous edema. A diagnosis of DMI was made. Heparin was replaced by analgesics and the patient was advised to rest in bed. The swelling subsided significantly within 4 weeks and almost returned to normal after 8 weeks with disappearance of the pain.