Title

A case of bony injury and osteomyelitis during the Covid-19 lockdown

Authors

Sobiya Farook¹* & Alina Sanda Gilligan²

Affiliation

¹Department of Medicine and Education, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Blackburn, UK; ²Department of Geriatric Medicine, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Blackburn, UK; *Corresponding author

Email

Sobiya Farook - E-mail: drsobiyafarook@gmail.com; Phone: +44 7778 958651
Alina Sanda Gilligan - E-mail: alinagabriela.sandagomez@elht.nhs.uk; Phone: +44 7955 161939

Article Type

Views

Date

Received October 1, 2025; Revised October 31, 2025; Accepted October 31, 2025, Published October 31, 2025

Abstract

Social isolation has been linked with psychological and cognitive decline and this has become more pertinent during the Covid19 pandemic. Here we report a case of self-inflicted tibial bony defect with associated osteomyelitis due to leg ulcers, self-neglect, and lack of support during self-isolation relating to Covid-19 restrictions. The soft tissue and bony defect created was extensive and it is likely caused by a support stocking acting as a tourniquet over a long time. The patient developed osteomyelitis and septicaemia and was treated with IV antibiotics. She was found to have mild cognitive impairment and was referred to community memory services. Thus, successive lockdowns with subsequent self-elected isolation have serious consequences for physical and mental well-being.

Keywords

Leg ulcers, osteomyelitis, self-neglect, cognitive impairment, social isolation, Covid19.

Citation

Farook & Gilligan, Bioinformation 21(10): 3956-3957 (2025)

Edited by

A Prashanth

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.