MRI DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETIC MUSCLE INFARCTION - REPORT OF 2 CASES

Diabetic muscle infarction (DMI) is a rare complication of diabetes me llitus occurring in patients with poorly controlled insulin-dependent diabetes. In previous reports, the diagnosis of this condition was bas ed on the pathologic studies, although MRI examinations were performed in a few patients as part of the diagnostic work-up. In this report, we describe two additional cases of DMI where the diagnosis was based on the MRI findings in conjunction with the clinical picture and labor atory studies. The patients usually present with thigh or calf pain an d swelling, are afebrile, and have normal white blood cell count. MRI examination typically shows diffuse swelling and increased signal inte nsity on T2-weighted images in the affected muscles, with no focal flu id collections. In the proper clinical setting, these findings are dia gnostic of DMI and patients should be spared unnecessary invasive diag nostic examinations such as lower extremity venograms and biopsies.