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Diabetic Myonecrosis

diabetic myonecrosis

Thank you Dr. Jane Ma for a a great presentation of a woman with right thigh pain and swelling, found to have diabetic myonecrosis

Teaching Points: 

  • Rare complication associated with poorly-controlled DM caused by infarcted muscle tissue
  • Acute pain and swelling of the affected muscle, most often in the lower extremities (most commonly in the thigh, second most common is calf pain/swelling)
  • Usually no history of trauma or fever
  • Usually in patients with poor glycemic control and complications of that (nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy)
  • MRI: imaging study of choice
  • Must rule out infectious causes, often with a CT-guided biopsy (ie. pyomyositis)
  • Muscle biopsy: can give you a definitive diagnosis but not currently recommended due to risks of complications from procedure and increase in time to recovery
  • Management: Conservative: Rest, pain control, NSAIDs
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