Tophaceous Gout Research Articles

Tophaceous Gout of Hip Joint Mimicking Bone Tumor

BACKGROUND: Gout is a condition characterized by abnormally elevated levels of uric crystals (gouty tophi). It is often to detect in the foot and ankle. Occasionally such tophus is found at rare sites and makes a challenge to the clinician where diagnosis and treatment are concerned.
 CASE REPORT: We present a patient who presented to our oncology department with pain on her right hip. It was diagnosed as a benign tumor by the clinical and radiological assessment but intraoperatively turned out to be gouty tophi. Excision surgery has performed, in the 1-year follow-up; there is no relapse of pain.
 CONCLUSIONS: Tophaceous gout in the hip joint is a rare case, which clinical and radiology assessments can detect erroneous diagnose. Tophaceous gout in the hip joint mimicked the bone tumor characteristics. It requires a better application and diagnosed for the mimicked tophaceous gout.

A cross-sectional study of 502 patients found a diffuse hyperechoic kidney medulla pattern in patients with severe gout

We have previously shown that ultrasonography can detect hyperechogenic crystal deposits in the kidney medulla of patients with gout. In this cross-sectional study we investigated the frequency and clinical correlates of hyperechogenic kidney medulla in 502 consecutive primary consultants for gout (ACR/EULAR criteria) at the Vien Gut medical center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. None of these patients received urate-lowering drugs. Kidney medulla echogenicity on B-mode ultrasonography was compared to that of the kidney cortex. Overall, 36% patients showed a hyperechoic pattern of Malpighi pyramids. On univariate analysis, the pattern was significantly associated with age, estimated gout duration, steroid-dependency, clinical tophi, urate arthropathy, double contour thickness at the scanned joints, coronary heart disease, arterial hypertension, hyperuricemia, proteinuria, leukocyturia, and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate. On multivariable analysis, the hyperechoic pattern was associated with estimated disease duration, clinical tophi, urate arthropathy, double contour thickness and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate. No hyperechoic pattern was observed in 515 consecutive consultants without gout. Thus, hyperechoic kidney medulla was frequently demonstrated in Vietnamese patients with tophaceous gout and associated with features of tubulointerstitial nephritis. This finding revives the hypothesis of microcrystalline nephropathy of gout, predominantly seen in untreated gouty patients, which could be an important target for urate-lowering therapy.

Ulcerated tophaceous gout.

Ulcerated tophaceous gout.

Increased Efficacy and Tolerability of Pegloticase in Patients With Uncontrolled Gout Co-Treated With Methotrexate: A Retrospective Study.

IntroductionGout is a painful inflammatory condition caused by chronically elevated serum uric acid levels (sUA). When standard urate-lowering therapies fail/are not tolerated, uncontrolled gout (elevated sUA, subcutaneous tophi, chronic gouty arthritis, frequent flares) can occur. Pegloticase, a recombinant uricase, converts uric acid to allantoin, a readily excreted molecule. Responder rate in trials was 42%, limited by anti-drug antibody (ADA) development. Immunomodulators attenuate ADA formation and case reports suggest immunomodulation increases pegloticase responder rates. The current study retrospectively examined responder rate in patients undergoing methotrexate/pegloticase co-therapy.MethodsPatients who underwent methotrexate/pegloticase co-treatment at a single rheumatology practice were included. Demographics, clinical, treatment, and safety parameters were collected. The primary outcome was the proportion of responders (≥ 12 biweekly pegloticase infusions, sUA < 6 mg/dl just prior to infusion 12).ResultsTen patients (nine men, 52.3 ± 13.5 years) with uncontrolled tophaceous gout (erosive damage, ulcerative tophi, frequent flares, gout-related hospitalizations) were included. Patients had failed allopurinol (100–300 mg) or febuxostat (40 mg) therapy (doses not increased because of intolerance, kidney concerns, noncompliance, or rapid tophi resolution requirement). Baseline sUA was 9.42 ± 2.05 mg/dl. Along with standard pre-infusion prophylaxis, nine patients received subcutaneous methotrexate (25 mg/week) initiated 14–35 days before pegloticase and one patient received oral methotrexate (12.5 mg/week) initiated 14 days after pegloticase. Eight patients (80%) were responders, receiving 15.5 ± 3.8 infusions (range, 12–21) over 31.8 ± 9.5 weeks. One patient had efficacy loss with mild infusion reaction during infusion 4 and one patient was lost to follow-up after infusion 5. One patient reported one gout flare. No new safety concerns emerged.ConclusionsMethotrexate/pegloticase co-therapy resulted in a higher responder rate than the established 42% with pegloticase alone. Therefore, methotrexate/pegloticase co-therapy may safely allow more patients to benefit from a full treatment course, likely through ADA attenuation.

AB0932 FACTORS IN ACHIEVING TARGET SERUM URIC ACID LEVELS IN OUTPATIENT GOUT MANAGEMENT IN A MALAYSIAN TERTIARY RHEUMATOLOGY CENTRE

Background:Gout is one of the most common inflammatory arthropathies. A target serum uric acid of less than 300µmol/l is recommended when tophi are present, and less than 360µmol/l for non-tophaceous gout. Urate-lowering therapy (ULT) should be titrated until the target is achieved and long-term maintenance of the target concentration is recommended. Although ULT has been proven to reduce the uric acid level, less than half of treated patients achieved the target serum uric acid (sUA) in real-world clinical practice.Objectives:To assess the mean treat-to-target achievement in outpatient management of gout by the tertiary rheumatology centre and to identify factors influencing the success rate.Methods:Retrospective cross-sectional study of all patients with gout attending out-patient clinics in a rheumatology referral centre from 1stJanuary 2018 until 31stDecember 2018. Electronic medical records were reviewed. The successful target achievement is defined as mean of all available sUA in 2018 which is ≤360 and ≤300µmol/l for non-tophaceous and tophaceous gout respectively. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as glomerular filtration rate of less than 60ml/min.Results:There were 251 patients analysed with mean age of 56.3±13.8 years and disease duration of 10.5±9.2 years. Majority were males (215, 85.7%) and 133 (53%) patients had tophaceous gout. The rate of success achieving the target SUA level of ≤360 and ≤300µmol/l were 33.9% (40) and 15.8% (21) in non-tophaceous and tophaceous gout respectively. However, in patients who are compliant, the target sUA achieved is 52.4% (33) and 31.7% (19) in non-tophaceous and tophaceous gout respectively. Characteristics of patients who achieved the targeted sUA were patients of more than 50 years old (48, 78.7%), without family history of gout (29, 65.9%), were prescribed colchicine prophylaxis upon initiating ULT (46, 76.7%), with absence of joint erosions (34, 73.9%) and those with normal creatinine clearance (40, 65.5%). There were 120 (48.4%) patients who were compliant to ULT. In 42 compliant patients who achieved target sUA, the mean allopurinol dose is 289.66mg±101.2 and 369.23mg±175 in non-tophaceous and tophaceous gout respectively. Sub-analysis in 31 compliant CKD patients, revealed no difference in allopurinol dose between those who achieved versus non-achieved target sUA (mean 243mg versus 263mg respectively). However, we noted that 11 (61%) CKD patients with tophi did not achieved target sUA at dose less than 300mg allopurinol. Lower achievement of target sUA was significantly associated with presence of tophi (p=0.001), poor compliance (p= 0.000) and presence of more than one comorbidity (p=0.041).Conclusion:There are several challenges in achieving target uric acid level contributed by both patient and clinician factors such as compliance, presence of comorbidity and ULT dose. Our study suggests that higher dosage of allopurinol is required in patients with tophaceous gout, with or without renal impairment. However, the limitation of this study is, the small number of subjects which therefore needsfurtherinvestigation.

A case of chronic tophi gout in morbidly obese patient after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding

Currently, increasing attention is being paid to studying the metabolic activity of adipose tissue, a source of biologically active mediators involved in vascular remodeling, immunological and inflammatory reactions. Today obesity is considered not only as independent risk factor of development of chronic noninfectious diseases (such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus types 2, pathology of a cardiovascular system, malignant neoplasms), but also as a significant predictor of metabolic disorders (dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, hyperuricemia), contributes to the early formation of metabolic syndrome and goat. Despite such an obvious problem, the current state of conservative therapy for overweight and obesity remains unsatisfactory. Most of patients, even after successful treatment, have a recurrence of the disease with the restoration of the initial anthropometric indicators or even an increase in body weight. In this regard, currently more widely used surgical methods of correction of obesity. However along with the expected positive effects of treatment bariatric surgery may be accompanied by the development of a number of specific surgical complications and impaired energy metabolism with aggravation of the existing polymorbid pathology. This clinical case demonstrates the association of obesity with the development of metabolic disorders, illustrates the development of severe tophaceous gout in a patient during 2 years after laparoscopic gastric banding. It shows the possible reasons for its debut and reflects the dynamics of the patients condition, as well as the nature and characteristics of the course of the joint syndrome in the postoperative period.

Practical application of national clinical guidelines for the management of gout (preliminary data)

The 2018 national guidelines for the management of gout provide a consistent scheme for urate-lowering drugs; however, the possibility of achieving uric acid (UA) targets in its use has not been studied.Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the urate-lowering therapy algorithm presented in the national guidelines for the management of gout.Patients and methods. This investigation was a prospective single-center study. It has been currently included 54 patients (91% males) with gout. The follow-up period is not less than 12 weeks of continuous use of allopurinol or febuxostat (Azurix) at the final dose.After the initiation of urate-lowering therapy, allopurinol 100 mg/day was prescribed, followed by dose titration to achieve the UA target that was defined as &lt;360 or &lt;300 μmol/L in patients with severe tophaceous gout. The maximum dose was 900 mg/day; it was 300 mg/day when the glomerular filtration rate was &lt;60 ml/min/1.73 m2 . Patients with the inefficacy of allopurinol and/or the presence of its associated adverse reactions (ARs) were prescribed febuxostat 80 mg/day; the dose was increased to 120 mg/day as needed.For the prevention of acute arthritis attacks, all the patients received a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) at the minimum therapeutic doses or colchicine 0.5 mg/day, and if these drugs were contraindicated, a glucocorticoid (GC) 7.5 mg/day, as calculated with reference to prednisone, was taken.The probability of achieving the serum UA target (&lt;360 or 300 μmol/L) was assessed in patients with chronic tophaceous gout.Results and discussion. 12 weeks after therapy initiation, the UA target could be achieved in 39/50 (79%) patients. The target levels &lt;360 and 360 μmol/L were recorded in 15/21 (71%) and 24/33 (73%), respectively. The UA level &lt;360 μmol/L was noted to decrease in a total of 92% of cases. Febuxostat was given to 41 patients: to 27 (66%) due to the inefficacy of allopurinol and to 14 (34%) due to its ARs. As a result, the UA target was achieved in 30 (73%) patients, and there was a decrease in the UA level &lt;360 μmol/L in 35 (85%).ARs were seen only in 3 febuxostat-treated patients, including 2 patients with previous allopurinol-induced ARs.For the prevention of arthritis attacks, 10 (19%) patients took NSAIDs, 41 (75%) received colchicine, and 3 (6%) used GC. There were no refusals to receive urate-lowering and preventive anti-inflammatory therapies.Conclusion. The proposed treatment regimen allows for achieving the serum UA target in 79% of patients and its decrease &lt;360 μmol/L in 92%. Treatment with febuxostat (Azurix) is associated with its good tolerance, including in the patients who could not use allopurinol because of AR. Preventive anti-inflammatory therapy is likely to improve adherence to urate-lowering therapy.

2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout.

To provide guidance for the management of gout, including indications for and optimal use of urate-lowering therapy (ULT), treatment of gout flares, and lifestyle and other medication recommendations. Fifty-seven population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes questions were developed, followed by a systematic literature review, including network meta-analyses with ratings of the available evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, and patient input. A group consensus process was used to compose the final recommendations and grade their strength as strong or conditional. Forty-two recommendations (including 16 strong recommendations) were generated. Strong recommendations included initiation of ULT for all patients with tophaceous gout, radiographic damage due to gout, or frequent gout flares; allopurinol as the preferred first-line ULT, including for those with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease (CKD; stage >3); using a low starting dose of allopurinol (≤100 mg/day, and lower in CKD) or febuxostat (<40 mg/day); and a treat-to-target management strategy with ULT dose titration guided by serial serum urate (SU) measurements, with an SU target of <6 mg/dl. When initiating ULT, concomitant antiinflammatory prophylaxis therapy for a duration of at least 3-6 months was strongly recommended. For management of gout flares, colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or glucocorticoids (oral, intraarticular, or intramuscular) were strongly recommended. Using GRADE methodology and informed by a consensus process based on evidence from the current literature and patient preferences, this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making decisions on the management of gout.

2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout.

To provide guidance for the management of gout, including indications for and optimal use of urate-lowering therapy (ULT), treatment of gout flares, and lifestyle and other medication recommendations. Fifty-seven population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes questions were developed, followed by a systematic literature review, including network meta-analyses with ratings of the available evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, and patient input. A group consensus process was used to compose the final recommendations and grade their strength as strong or conditional. Forty-two recommendations (including 16 strong recommendations) were generated. Strong recommendations included initiation of ULT for all patients with tophaceous gout, radiographic damage due to gout, or frequent gout flares; allopurinol as the preferred first-line ULT, including for those with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease (CKD; stage >3); using a low starting dose of allopurinol (≤100 mg/day, and lower in CKD) or febuxostat (<40 mg/day); and a treat-to-target management strategy with ULT dose titration guided by serial serum urate (SU) measurements, with an SU target of <6 mg/dl. When initiating ULT, concomitant antiinflammatory prophylaxis therapy for a duration of at least 3-6 months was strongly recommended. For management of gout flares, colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or glucocorticoids (oral, intraarticular, or intramuscular) were strongly recommended. Using GRADE methodology and informed by a consensus process based on evidence from the current literature and patient preferences, this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making decisions on the management of gout.

Early Shaver Surgical Treatment of the Chronic Tophaceous Masses Effectively Remove the Lesions Without Major Complication

Background: Gout is a modern-day chronic disease seen in 4·62% of Taiwan’s general population. Although the current treatment of urate lowering therapy (ULT) is effective, there remains 10% of patients who do not response well for this treatment. This paper reviews the effectiveness of the shaver technique, which not only increases efficacy when coupled with ULT but can also be used individually to treat the 10% subset that suffer from chronic tophaceous lesions. Method: Using PubMed, all available series of surgery for tophaceous gout were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed on our surgical outcomes of patients treated by the shaver technique over a sixteen-year (2002 to 2018) period. Finding: The key to shaver technique is early intervention to prevent joint function deterioration. Statistical analysis showed that infection and surgery sites directly correlate to the prognosis of gout patients. Moreover, 6 published surgical articles were identified. All 6 articles were published between 2009 and 2019. The reported outcome of surgical intervention for gout was positive with satisfactory cosmetic outcome and faster recovery period. Interpretation: Although ULT is currently used as the first-line approach to tophaceous gout, we believe the shaver technique should be implemented at the early phase of tophaceous gout lesions, thereby preventing excessive damage in the joints, but also the complication of the shaver technique is minor compared to other available surgical options. Funding: This study was authors’ own work. Declaration of Interests: No conflicts of interests to be disclosed. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by Institutional Review Board at Kaohsiung Medical University.

Management of patients with gout and achievement of target serum urate levels at a tertiary rheumatology service in Australia.

Gout is common crystal arthritis that is often managed sub-optimally. To determine what proportion of patients treated for gout by the tertiary level rheumatology service at the Royal Brisbane Hospital between 2014 and 2018 reached target serum urate (SU) levels. Secondary aims included exploring the demographic characteristics of those who did and did not reach target. The records of patients who were treated at least once either as in inpatient or outpatient by the rheumatology service at the Royal Brisbane Hospital between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018 were reviewed. Clinical status, treatment characteristics and outcome were recorded and analysed. There were 129 patients who met the inclusion criteria for the study, the majority of patients were male and 39% had tophaceous gout. Fifty-four (42%) had been intentionally discharged from clinic, 50 (85%) of those patients had reached their SU target, the remaining eight (15%) were discharged with a plan for other services to continue their therapy to reach SU target. Forty patients (31%) had ongoing follow up, with 16 (40%) of these at target and 24 (60%) not at target. Thirty-five (27%) were not attending, five (4%) had died and 30 (23%) had failed to attend follow-up appointments, none of these patients was at target at their last known SU level. Despite effective therapy the number of patients treated for gout at a large public metropolitan teaching hospital reaching SU target was low. Almost one-quarter of patients in the study discontinued contact with the clinic. The reasons for this are not clear and are likely multifactorial.

Management of Gout in the United States: A Claims-based Analysis.

ObjectiveGout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in the United States. Although numerous guidelines exist for the management of gout, they are not routinely implemented. This study evaluated the real‐world practice patterns in gout patients using large administrative claims databases.MethodsAn analysis of patients diagnosed with gout from October 2015 to November 2018 was carried out using the Symphony Integrated Dataverse and Truven Marketscan administrative claims databases. Patients were identified as having gout if they were more than18 years of age and had 2 or more primary gout diagnoses on different days, separated by 3 or more months. Patients were further identified as having either acute gout or advanced forms of gout including chronic nontophaceous, tophaceous, and uncontrolled gout. Percent and frequency of serum urate testing, rheumatology specialist visits, prescriptions for urate lowering therapies (ULTs), and emergency room (ER) visits for gout flares were evaluated.ResultsWe identified 1 162 747 gout patients. Gout patients were seen most frequently by internists and family medicine practitioners. Neither urate testing nor prescriptions for ULTs were uniform. Patients with acute gout were infrequently seen by rheumatologists, whereas rheumatologist care progressively increased in patients with advanced gout. The frequency of serum urate testing and prescriptions for ULTs significantly increased, whereas the frequency of ER visits decreased in gout patients seen by a rheumatologist.ConclusionMeasurement of serum urate and prescriptions for ULTs are not consistent in gout patients. Rheumatologist care increases the frequency of urate measurement and ULT prescriptions and may also improve outcomes for gout patients.

Formulation and in vitro Evaluation of Fast Dissolving Tablets of Febuxostat Using Co-Processed Excipients.

BackgroundFebuxostat is a novel, orally-administered, powerful, non-purine, xanthine oxidase inhibitor used for treating gout and ceaseless tophaceous gout. The drug exhibits low bioavailability (about 49%) which is ascribed to its dissolution rate-limited absorption.ObjectiveThe current work is aimed to provide a novel strategy to improve the dissolution profile and thus, the bioavailability of Febuxostat.MethodsFormulation of Fast Dissolving Tablets (FDT) is anticipated to provide immediate release of the drug, which in turn, will improve its dissolution profile to provide the initial surge in plasma concentration required in an acute gout attack. Incorporation of co-processed excipients in a tablet is known to improve the compressibility and disintegration characteristics of the tablets, which, in turn, result in enhanced in vitro drug release and improved bioavailability. A combination of crospovidone (it rapidly wicks saliva into the tablet to create the volume development and hydrostatic weight important to give quick disintegration) and microcrystalline cellulose (a highly compressible ingredient with good wicking and absorbing capacity) was, therefore, used as co-processed excipients.ResultsThe tablets were prepared by direct compression technique with the application of a 32 randomized full factorial design. The prepared tablets were able to release more than 80% of the drug within 10 minutes of the start of dissolution testing and were able to show a better drug release profile in comparison to available marketed formulation.ConclusionSo, it can be concluded that the developed fast release formulation was found to exhibit convincing in vitro results and may prove a boon in the treatment of acute gout attack after establishing in vivo potential.

Limited Knee-Joint Range of Motion in Patients With Tophaceous Gout Improved With Medical Treatment: A 18-Months Follow Up.

Objectives: Tophi may occur within the knee joint causing limited knee-joint range of motion (knee motion). We investigated the relationships between knee motion, total intra-articular tophi size (tIA-tophi), and total subcutaneous tophi size (tSC-tophi) and determined knee motion improvement after continual urate-lowering therapy (ULT).Methods: A total of 26 patients with tophaceous gout and limited knee motion were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were age ≤ 60 years and preserved knee joint space on a plain radiograph. tSC-tophi were measured using a Vernier caliper and tIA-tophi were measured using magnetic resonance imaging software. All patients were re-evaluated after 12–24 months of continual ULT. Upon initial visit, knee motion was related to tIA-tophi and tSC-tophi.Results: After an average of 18.2 months of ULT, the reduction in tSC-tophi was correlated with the reduction in tIA-tophi (P = 0.014, r = 0.395) and improvement in knee motion (P = 0.038, r = 0.408). Knee motion can be eventually improved even in cases of poor initial knee motion (P = 0.000, r = –0.911) or large initial tIA-tophi (P = 0.014, r = 0.476). Tophi can occur in any location within the knee joint. In multiple lineal regression, knee motion was predicted to improve 8.39° for every 10cm of tIA-tophi reduction.Conclusions: Limited knee motion in patients with intra-articular tophi improved with medical treatment, regardless of initial severity. Furthermore, tSC-tophi can be used as an indicator of limited knee motion and their improvement as a predictor of knee motion improvement.

Disseminated cutaneous gout: a rare manifestation of a common disease

Disseminated cutaneous gout is a rare atypical cutaneous manifestation of gout in which widespread dermal and subcutaneous tophi develop at extra-articular body sites. Given the lack of joint involvement that is typically a feature in tophaceous gout, the diagnosis may not be initially suspected. We present the case of a 50-year-old Hispanic man with poorly controlled gout who was evaluated for several years of firm papulonodules over the trunk and upper and lower extremities, sparing the joints; histopathology confirmed, the diagnosis of disseminated cutaneous gout. Per our literature review, disseminated cutaneous gout presents with polymorphous papules and nodules that can mimic other, more common cutaneous diseases. There is a preponderance of cases in males, Asians, and patients with longstanding gout. The lower extremities are involved in nearly all reports. Uric acid-lowering therapy with allopurinol has been reported to decrease the size and number of lesions in a minority of treated patients.

Strukturert pasientforløp ved urinsyregikt

Pharmacological treatment and follow-up of gout is often inadequate.The patients risk repeated, painful arthritis flares and some develop chronic tophaceous gout and joint damage. Since 1 March 2017, a structured care pathway has been established for patients with gout at the Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital. Patients were placed on preventive medication, the majority on allopurinol, and were regularly monitored. Patient education is key to the care pathway. The treatment goal is to lower the concentration of serum urate to a level below a defined threshold value (360 µmol/l for non-tophaceous gout or 300 µmol/l for tophaceous gout). Patient data were collected on a continuous basis and recorded in a research database. The care pathway is assessed after 18months. A total of 103patients have been included, of whom 93 (90%) are men, with an average age of 63 years and large variations in duration of the disease (min.-max. 0-36 years). Eight patients left the care pathway during the project. The average level of serum urate at inclusion was 446 µmol/l (min.-max. 144-751 µmol/l). The average maximum dose of allopurinol was 333mg (min.-max. 100-700mg). Survival analysis showed that three months after the start of urate-lowering therapy, 49% of the patients had achieved their analytical treatment goal. Altogether 83% achieved the goal within six months. The majority (70%) were free of flares after achieving the treatment goal. A standardised care pathway for gout enables adaptation of preventive treatment through regular monitoring. The care pathway helps the vast majority of patients to achieve treatment goals, which is crucial to avoid arthritis flares.

Chronic tophaceous gout manifesting with bilateral diffuse pedal swelling: Cytology revisited with an update in its list of differentials

Gout, a disorder of purine metabolism, presents with acute or chronic arthritis and deposition of urate crystals in connective tissue and kidneys. Rarely, patients progress into chronic tophaceous gout (CTG). We emphasize on a 74-year-old male patient, who developed multiple gouty tophi over both his hands. In addition, both his feet were diffusely swollen. On detection of characteristic urate crystals from both his hands and feet lesions, the diagnosis of CTG was confirmed.

Hyperuricaemia and gout

Gout is a painful, inflammatory disease that affects more men than women. The incidence of gout has increased substantially over the past few decades, as evidenced by information from the Rochester project. Some of the risk factors for the development of gout include: increased ethanol intake, high dietary purine consumption, obesity and the use of certain drugs, such as diuretics. Another important risk factor for the development of gout is hyperuricaemia. Hyperuricaemia results from an imbalance between the rate of production and excretion of uric acid in the body. An excess of uric acid thus builds up in the body, supersaturating body fluids and leading to the formation of monosodium urate crystals. These crystals accumulate in tissue and around joints, leading to an acute gout attack. Gout can be divided into four phases, namely asymptomatic hyperuricaemia, acute gout attacks or recurrent gout, intercritical gout and chronic tophaceous gout. Various treatment options are available for gout, and the treatment for each gout patient is determined by the stage of the disease. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, corticotropin and colchicine are used for the treatment of acute gout attacks. Allopurinol and probenecid are used for long-term hypouricaemic therapy, while NSAIDs and colchicine are prescribed for the prophylaxis of future gout attacks. All of these treatments have side-effects, ranging from mild to life-threatening in nature. There is a need for novel gout therapies that have fewer side-effects but are still as effective.

Role of fine-needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of erosive polyarticular tophaceous gout

Role of fine-needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of erosive polyarticular tophaceous gout

Relationship between urate within tophus and bone erosion according to the anatomic location of urate deposition in gout: A quantitative analysis using dual-energy CT volume measurements.

The aim of this study was to measure the urate volume within tophus and bone erosion volume using dual-energy computed tomography in patients with tophaceous gout. Furthermore, our study aims to quantitatively analyze the relationship between monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition and bone erosion according to the anatomic location of urate deposition.Seventy-seven subjects with chronic gout were positively identified for the presence of urate deposition. Only 27 subjects identified for the presence of urate in contact with bone erosion were included in this study. The urate volumes and associated erosion volumes were measured. The relationships between urate within tophus and bone erosion were separately analyzed according to the anatomic location of urate deposition.Twenty-seven subjects were all male (100%) with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 52 (45–61) years. From all the subjects, 103 tophi depositions were identified in contact with bone erosion, including 58/103 tophi that contained an intraosseous component and 45/103 nonintraosseous tophi. Tophi containing intraosseous components were larger than nonintraosseous tophi (urate volume: median [IQR] 45.64 [4.79–250.89] mm3 vs 19.32 [6.97–46.71] mm3, P = .035) and caused greater bone erosion (erosion volume: 249.03 [147.08–845.33] mm3 vs 69.07 [32.88–111.24] mm3, P < .001). Almost all erosion volumes were larger than urate volumes in nonperiarticular tophi, in contrast to most erosion volumes, which were less than urate volumes in the tophi that contained a periarticular component (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 74.00, 14.70–372.60; P < .001). Urate volume and erosion volume demonstrated positive correlations in intraosseous tophi, intraosseous-intra-articular-periarticular tophi, and intraosseous-intra-articular tophi (rs = 0.761, rs = 0.695, rs = 0.629, respectively, P < .05).MSU crystal deposition shows a promoting effect on the development of bone erosions in varying degrees, associated with the location of MSU crystals deposited in the joints. The intraosseous tophi contribute the most to bone erosions, followed by intra-articular tophi, and periarticular tophi.