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Cases

A hot red leg that is not getting better

A 58-year-old is on day four of intravenous antibiotics and the leg looks the same.

58-year-old womanMedical ward, bed 7Fictitious educational patient
ObesityChronic venous insufficiencyType 2 diabetes

Day 4 · 09:00

Ward round

Admitted with a hot, red, swollen left leg and treated as cellulitis. Four days of intravenous flucloxacillin and the appearance is unchanged. She is afebrile and feels well in herself. Inflammatory markers have fallen slightly.

Vitals

HR78BP134/80RR16SpO297%T36.7

Examination

  • Left leg: Erythema from ankle to mid-calf, warm, mildly tender, with clear demarcation.
  • Right leg: Similar erythema and warmth, slightly less marked. Nobody has commented on this before.
  • Skin: Bilateral pitting oedema, hyperpigmentation over both shins, dry scaling.
  • Systemic: No fever, no lymphangitis, no lymphadenopathy.

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