Retained Foreign Body in a Diabetic Patient’s Hand

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy puts patients at increased risk of acute injury by foreign bodies and also contributes to delayed presentation and diagnosis.

We describe a 57-year-old patient with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes who presented with a three-week history of worsening swelling and erythema in the metacarpophalangeal joint of his left thumb. He denied any previous trauma or injury and was initially treated with intravenous antibiotics. Subsequent imaging revealed septic arthritis and osteomyelitis secondary to a retained foreign body, which was surgically removed in theatre.

This is the first reported case of a retained foreign body in the hand of a diabetic patient, and demonstrates the importance of early radiological imaging of peripheral limb injuries in high-risk patients.