Scleredema Diabeticorum: A Rare Metabolic Connective Tissue Manifestation of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Causing External Restrictive Lung Disease

Abstract

Scleredema diabeticorum (SD) is a rare metabolic connective tissue manifestation of diabetes mellitus (DM). SD commonly manifests in male patients with poorly controlled prolonged DM with obesity. In SD, the skin gets stiffened, thickened, and leathery in texture with a peau d’orange appearance commonly involving the posterior aspect of the neck and chest wall. Extensive chest wall skin involvement restricts lung movement, causing external restrictive lung disease and hypoventilation. In this case report, we present a 50-year-old male patient with poorly controlled type 2 DM for 10 years, complicated with established diabetic microvascular complications and extensive involvement of SD over the back of the neck and chest with external restrictive lung disease.