Diabetic muscle infarction in a 57 year old male: a case report

BACKGROUND: Diabetic muscle infarction is a rare complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and is often misdiagnosed as cellulitis. This complication is usually associated with poor disease prognosis and high mortality with previous studies reporting a risk of 50% recurrence or another macrovascular complication occurring within one year. Thus, there needs to be greater awareness of this complication of diabetes. CASE PRESENTATION: In the current work, we present a case report and literature review of DMI occurring in a calf of a 57 year old male. However, unlike the suspected trend, our patient has performed well after this incident and has not sustained another macrovascular event now > 15 month since his original diabetic muscle infarction. CONCLUSION: Even though diabetic muscle infarction is an uncommon condition, it is important to consider this diagnosis in a diabetic patient. We hope that our findings and literature review will aid clinicians to better diagnose and manage this condition.