Chronic tophaceous gout results from chronic hyperuricemia. Gouty tophi result from a second pathophysiological mechanism of immune anergy and granuloma formation allowing the concurrent. The typical cr findings in chronic tophaceous gout, which differentiate it from other inflammatory arthritides, include well defined, punched. Validation of mri in the assessment of tophaceous gout.
Our goal was to assess the sensitivity of dect for the detection of monosodium urate msu deposits in non tophaceous and tophaceous gout, both at the level of the patient and that of the individual joint or lesion. Computed tomography provides specific images compared with magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography article in annals of the rheumatic diseases 611. To assess the feasibility and diagnostic value of detecting uric acid depositing among patients with tophaceous gout using a dual energy ct based gemstone spectral imaging gsi technology for qualitative analysis of uric acid. Paraparesis revealing tophaceous gout pottecher 2018. May 21, 2017 the american college of rheumatologyeuropean league against rheumatism collaborative initiative has noted that gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, with a prevalence of 3.
Fourteen tophaceous gout patients and ten nontophaceous patients were. Radiograph shows multiple erosions, some of which are extramarginal. In addition, it allows the detection of associated structural lesions, such as meniscus or ligament pathology, which can be confusing with chronic symptoms associated with urate. Mr imaging of tophaceous gout revisited khoo j n, tan s c abstract gout is the most common form of microcrystalline arthropathy, and does not usually pose a diagnostic challenge when patients have a typical presentation, appropriate biochemical picture and classical radiographic appearance.
There are welldefined erosions involving the hallux interphalangeal and 1st. Ideally, an imaging modality should capture all aspects of disease including monosodium urate crystal deposition, acute inflammation, tophus, tissue remodelling and complications of disease. Mr imaging is not routinely used for evaluation of tophaceous gout. Comparison of dualenergy ct and magnetic resonance imaging with anatomical pathology researchspacemanakin repository.
Management of tophaceous gout of the distal interphalangeal. All patients underwent dect scans of the neck and chest using a siemens somatom force ct scanner, and images were processed with syngovia imaging software to identify msu deposits. Fourteen tophaceous gout patients and ten nontophaceous patients were recruited from a singlecenter urban academic hospital. This case describes the ct, mr, and fdgpet imaging characteristics of acute inflammatory gout. There are several characteristic ultrasound imaging findings, which include visualization of echogenic monosodium urate crystal deposition, tophus, and adjacent erosions. These tophi are typically yellowwhite in color, nontender, and are typically located within the articular. A ctguided biopsy was diagnostic for inflammatory tophaceous gout. Imaging may play a useful role in this, particularly when uric acid crystals are unable to. Two of the four patients with a first flare of gouty arthritis but no imaging findings of msu deposition in the index joint had green pixilation in other areas. To define the magnetic resonance mr imaging features of tophaceous gout of the spine. Dualenergy computed tomography dect is a new diagnostic tool for gout, but its sensitivity has not been established. They usually happen if you dont treat your gout for a long time about 10 years or. Tophi and chronic tophaceous gout treatment the toe doctor. Despite the lack of major technological advances in imaging of gout.
Imaging and pathology studies have established a close relationship between intraosseous tophus and bone erosion. Bone erosions near the urate crystal deposits and secondary proliferative bone changes, in addition to ct findings of lowdensity areas representing tophi, are features. After discussion of the differential with radiology, we concluded that the long history of gout, added to the ct and mri findings, favored a diagnosis of tophaceous deposition. The typical appearance of gout on x ray evaluation is the presence of welldefined punchedout erosions with sclerotic margins in a marginal and juxtaarticular distribution, with overhanging edges. Carroll m1, boocock m2, dalbeth n3, stewart s4, frampton c5, rome k6. Ankle joint function during walking in tophaceous gout. Magnetic resonance imaging of tophaceous gout in the hands and wrists. Gout is a crystal arthropathy due to deposition of monosodium urate crystals in and around the joints. Gout is a metabolic disorder in which there is hyperuricemia caused by an increase in production or a decrease in excretion of uric acid. While conventional radiography xray remains the most widely used form of imaging in the clinical setting and is helpful in revealing erosions in chronic gout, these new imaging tools can reveal joint damage and tophi at a much earlier stage. Patients with chronic uncontrolled hyperuricemia, such as those with chronic kidney disease, may develop chronic tophaceous gout.
Imaging in rheumatology, gout an 82yearold african american male with a history of hypertension and polyarticular tophaceous gout presented to the emergency department ed with acute onset of dizziness, neck pain, and bilateral upper extremity weakness that had arisen periodically over the previous two months. Without treatment, gout can become a chronic condition and increase your risk of developing tophi and joint damage. Figure 2 a patient 3, left knee, prepatellar tophus. Dualenergy ct for the diagnosis of gout annals of rheumatic. These modalities employ multiplanar imaging and allow computerized threedimensional rendering of bone and joints including tophi and have the advantage of electronic data storage for later retrieval.
Dect thus confirmed severe tophaceous gout with spinal cord compression a arrows. Magnetic resonance imaging mri allows assessing the presence of joint deposits of monosodium urate msu and bone erosions in patients with tophaceous gout. The sensitivity was 90% in tophaceous gout, but remained inadequate. However, for some patients, gout can be a chronic, relapsing problem with multiple severe attacks that occur at short intervals and without complete resolution of inflammation between attacks. Dect was performed on 11 patients with crystalproven non.
Ultrasound has recently been identified as a promising new imaging modality for gout. Dect detected msu deposits in non tophaceous gout, with 65% sensitivity on scanning of both upper and lower extremity joints and only 18% on scanning of the crystalproven joint. Jamadar 1 department of radiology, university of michigan, east medical center drive, tc, ann arbor, mi, usa division of rheumatology, university of florida college of medicine. Limited kneejoint range of motion in patients with tophaceous. Dualenergy computed tomography open access journals. All 10 patients with tophaceous gout had msu deposits evident by dect. Clinical applications of dualenergy computed tomography for. Findings of x rays are characteristic of tophaceous gout. Recent advances in the imaging of gout show promise and hopefully will lead to more accurate assessment of the activity of gout and assist in the diagnosis of atypical presentations of acute and tophaceous gout, including its response to therapy. Small soft tissue masses are associated with these erosions, the former appearing of homogeneously low signal intensity on t1 and intermediate signal intensity on t2.
Since we focused on toe gout in our last post we decided to expand upon the topic this week to go into some of the details of this form of toe joint arthritis and look at some of the possible complications caused by tophi in the toe and what risks you face if you have tophi as well as ways to remedy chronic tophaceous gout. Recent developments in advanced imaging in gout joseph davies. Fourteen tophaceous gout patients and ten non tophaceous patients were recruited from a singlecenter urban academic hospital. Ct showing prepatellar soft tissue thickening and small nodular opacities of 150200 hu in density. Mri is sensitive in showing softtissue and osseous abnormalities of gout, although the imaging findings are not specific. Surgical management of acute tophaceous gout of the distal interphalangeal joint is often associated with delayed wound healing. Objectives to assess the accuracy of dualenergy ct dect for diagnosing gout, and to explore whether it can have any impact on clinical decision making beyond the established diagnostic approach using polarising microscopy of synovial fluid diagnostic yield. Methods diagnostic singlecentre study of 40 patients with active gout, and 41 individuals with other types of joint disease. The management of gout and its associated morbidities are expected to be transformed with the expanded role of ultrasound and dualenergy ct dect.
Regions of bony lysis adjacent to soft tissue densities represent tophi. Gout itself, as well as tophi development, can severely reduce mobility due to pain and stiffness in joints. Mri is another imaging method that may be used in the evaluation of gout 4. To evaluate the locations and associated erosions of tophaceous gout in the knee and to reevaluate its characteristic magnetic resonance imaging features. Dect can accurately assess these deeper tophi, and, with the use of dedicated automat ed volume assessment software, can measure. Magnetic resonance imaging of tophaceous gout taipei. Improved understanding of the pathophysiology of gout and significant advances in imaging technology in the last decade has led to multiple noninvasive imaging techniques for the diagnosis of gout. Some patients only experience acute gout attacks which may be limited to 12 times per year or even 12 times in lifetime. The tophus is an organized structure that consists of collections of msu crystals and chronic inflammatory tissue. When images were reconstructed with two different parameter ratios for dect imaging, mri only correlated with one dect image and the other dect image did not identify any tophi. Mr imaging features chronic tophaceous gout typically presents as juxta. Dualenergy computed tomography has limited sensitivity for non. Among the 11 nontophaceous gout patients, seven had had gout for less than one year and nine had had more than one gout attack. Ultrasound images of 8 affected areas were analyzed from 31 patients with gout, using highquality broadband linear transducers frequency range of 814 mhz.
Aspiration through neighbouring uninvolved skin is a safe method of treating these tophi. A gouty tophus occasionally mimics an infectious or neoplastic process, and mr imaging may be obtained under these circumstances. Dualenergy computed tomography dect is a recently developed advanced imaging technology with a number of clinical applications. Medical college, bikaner, rajasthan research article journal of. Home september 2011 volume 17 issue 6 destructive tophaceous gout. The purpose of this study was to determine the mr imaging characteristics of intraosseous and softtissue tophi. To determine the usefulness of computed tomography ct, magnetic resonance imaging mri, and doppler ultrasonography us in providing specific images of gouty tophi. Cr has been the traditional imaging tool in the management of rheumatic disorders. A recent study in assessing tophi compared dect imaging with mri scanning and found that results can vary depending on the software setting for dect mcqueen et al. Review imaging in gout what can we learn from mri, ct, dect. Multimodality imaging of chronic tophaceous gout may be useful in clinical practice for a variety of purposes, including assessment of diseaserelated anatomical changes and monitoring of. Abstract there are many exciting new applications for advanced imaging in gout. Edwardsmagnetic resonance imaging of tophaceous gout in the hands and wrists. However, magnetic resonance mr imaging is increasingly used as the firstline imaging modality in patients with first presentation of joint pain or mass, and tophaceous gout is frequently a.
There are many exciting new applications for advanced imaging in gout. Tophus formation is a result of untreated and uncontrolled chronic gout and is a surrogate for more severe gout and poor hrqol. Characteristics of nontophaceous and tophaceous gout patient. In chronic tophaceous gout, there are solid urate crystal collections tophi and chronic inflammatory and destructive changes in surrounding connective tissue 12. Review article imaging appearances in gout gandikotagirish, 1 davidm.
Detection of uric acid crystals in the vasculature of. Sonography can be used for needle guidance to obtain tissue samples for diagnosis. Mr imaging findings author links open overlay panel paosheng yen md a juifeng lin md b shinyuan chen md msc b c 1 shinnzong lin md phd b. Last decade has brought about significant advancement in imaging technology and real scientific growth in the understanding of the pathophysiology of gout, leading to the availability of multiple effective noninvasive diagnostic imaging options for gout and treatment options fighting inflammation and controlling urate levels.
Direct quantitative measurement of msu volume can be made with dect software. Dualenergy computed tomography has limited sensitivity for. Tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine mimicking infectious spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess. Clinical applications of dualenergy computed tomography. Typically, imaging findings associated with joint inflammation are seen, as well as findings that are more specific to and even pathognomonic of gout. Hsu cy, shih tt, huang km, chen pq, sheu jj, li yw. Tophaceous gout online rheumatology lecture lecturio. We present the mr imaging examinations of 4 patients with spinal tophaceous gout. Tophus tophi plural of tophus usually appear as lumps on the skin over affected joints due to deposits of monosodium urate crystals in patients with lo. Dualenergy computed tomography dect is a new diagnostic. Msu crystals in tophaceous deposits around joints and deposits in tendons and soft tissues are well identified by dect. Gout gout is a crystal arthropathy due to deposition of monosodium urate crystals in and around the joints. Bone erosion is a frequent complication of tophaceous gout. To describe the different and lesserknown ultrasound features of tophi in chronic tophaceous gout.
Gout symptoms and diagnosis johns hopkins arthritis center. For the secondary analyses, we classified imaging results as positive for gout if green pixilation was either observed around the index joint andor in other locations of the imaged area. For the rheumatologist, the most exciting application is the ability of dect to specifically detect deposition of monosodium urate msu crystals. Apr 08, 2020 complications of tophaceous gout may become serious if the nodes are not treated. Dect can identify monosodium urate msu crystals in people with gout,1,2 and also has conventional ct properties, allowing assessment of tophus and bone pathology. Highresolution computed tomography has been particularly helpful in exploring the pathology of gout by investigating the. Case submitted by stephen albert, dpm, facpm 62 yo vietnam era veteran complains of pain in multiple locations of both feet, associated with weightbearing activities. An imaging panegyric khizer razak1, surbhi gupta2, g. Gout commonly involves specific joints and anatomic structures, and knowledge of these sites and imaging appearances are clues to the correct diagnosis. Four male patients with chronic gout with tophi affecting the knee joints three cases or the olecranon processes of the elbows one case were assessed. Mr imaging of tophaceous gout revisited researchgate. In our patient, dect scanning revealed evidence of spontaneous dense urate deposition in both masses, which appeared green with application of dedicated post. The diverse clinical states and sites of pathology in gout provide challenges when considering the features apparent on imaging.
These findings were in keeping with an intraarticular manifestation of chronic tophaceous gout. Threedimensional reconstruction of helical multidetector computed tomography scan of the foot of a patient with tophaceous gout. Findings of x rays are characteristic of tophaceous gout the typical appearance of gout on x ray evaluation is the presence of welldefined punchedout erosions with sclerotic margins in a marginal and juxtaarticular distribution, with overhanging edges. Dualenergy computed tomography has limited sensitivity. Pdf multimodality imaging of chronic tophaceous gout. The mean age of the 40 gout patients was 62 years, the. Detection of uric acid crystals in the vasculature of patients with. Our goal was to assess the sensitivity of dect for the detection of monosodium urate msu deposits in nontophaceous and tophaceous gout, both at the level of the patient and that of the individual joint or lesion. Longlasting hyperuricemia causes the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in the joints and soft tissues, triggering gouty arthritis and, if not properly treated, the formation of gouty tophi.
Epidemiology typically occurs in those above 40 years. A total of 26 patients with tophaceous gout and limited knee motion. A research team from the johns hopkins division of rheumatology including alan baer, m. Table 2 results of dect scanning in patients with non tophaceous gout.
Ultrasound features of tophi in chronic tophaceous gout. Multiple cortical erosions within the tarsal and metatarsal bones, particularly along the first metatarsal head and the base of the fifth metatarsal, are present. Imaging in gout what can we learn from mri, ct, dect and. A tophus consists of a core of monosodium urate msu crystals surrounded by various degrees of vascularity of inflammatory tissue. Fdgpet imaging characteristics of this disorder have not been previously described. Tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine mimicking infectious. Dualenergy ct dect and mri are advanced imaging methods used to visualise gout pathology. For persistently symptomatic, unstable dip joints, arthrodesis should be considered.
Gout can cause episodes of severe pain called gout attacks. At ultrasound, the combination of joint effusion, tophus, erosion, and the double contour sign is said to be diagnostic of gout in. The imaging techniques that currently have a role in the imaging of gout include conventional radiography, ultrasound, computed tomography, dual energy computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear medicine. Imaging in gout what can we learn from mri, ct, dect and us. This is the stage where tophi develop in your joints and the tissues around them. The clinical presentation and imaging features are herein discussed, with an emphasis on mr imaging. In addition, when tophi break through the surface of the skin, there is a risk they may become infected or ulcerated. However, gout may present clinically in an atypical, unusual, or confusing manner. Gouty arthritis, multiple toes the american college of. During an acute attack of gout, soft tissue swelling and effusions may be seen by cr gentili, 2006, however these findings are nonspecific. Advanced imaging modalities including mri, ultrasound us, ct and dual energy ct have important applications in gout. Detection of uric acid depositing in tophaceous gout using a. Tophi are a symptom of gout, a condition where uric acid crystallizes in joints like those in your feet and hands. Spinecho t1weighted and fast spinecho t2weighted images were obtained for all patients, and 2 patients had gadoliniumenhanced mr imaging studies.
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