[Dupuytren's contracture and diabetes mellitus]

The literature suggests that the frequency of Dupuytren's disease is ten times greater in diabetes than in the general population. We have studied 42 diabetic patients with a contracture of the palmar fascia. Dupuytren's contracture can be considered a complication of diabetes and of the local neurovascular changes since both are often associated. The contracture is usually not severe in diabetes, is nodular in form, and usually crushes the palmar surface of the long and ring fingers. It is usually well tolerated by the patients and surgery is rarely indicated, particularly in view of the advanced age of many patients. In caring for patients with Dupuytren's disease, surgeons should also rule out the presence of diabetes with appropriate test.