Calciphylaxis

Images in Medicine CalciphylaxisA 66-year-old woman with a history of diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease, not on maintenance haemodialysis, was admitted to our emergency department with complaints of fever, bilateral lower limb pain, and behavioural changes.She was diagnosed with uraemia and was shifted to the intensive care unit for initiation of haemodialysis.During admission, she developed a painful purpuric rash on her right thigh and left leg.A few days later, the rash progressed to form a necrotic ulcer (Fig. 1).A non-contrast CT scan showed calcification of the walls of the abdominal aorta and its branches (Fig. 2).A biopsy (Fig. 3) of the skin lesions showed calcification in dermal and subcutaneous micro vessels with septal panniculitis, confirming the diagnosis of calciphylaxis.