Gout Pain From Crumbling Bones Is Worst

Gout Bone Erosion

Gout research study:

Ann Rheum Dis. 2008 Aug 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Mechanisms of bone erosion in gout; a quantitative analysis using plain radiography and computed tomography.
Dalbeth N, Clark B, Gregory K, Gamble G, Sheehan T, Doyle A, McQueen FM.

University of Auckland, New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: The underlying basis of bone erosion in gout remains speculative. The aim of this study was to understand the mechanisms of bone erosion in gout using non-invasive imaging techniques. METHODS: Paired plain radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans of 798 individual hand and wrist joints from 20 patients with gout were analyzed. Radiographs were scored for erosion (0-5) using the Sharp-van der Heijde method. CT scans were scored for the presence and diameter of bone erosions and tophi. The presence of intraosseous tophus (tophus visualized within bone) was recorded. The relationships between radiographic erosion, CT erosion and tophus scores were analyzed. RESULTS: With increasing radiographic erosion score, the percentage of joints with intraosseous tophus increased (p<0.0001). For those joints with a radiographic erosion score of 4 or 5, 96/98 (98%) had CT evidence of intraosseous tophus. There was a significant relationship between the radiographic erosion scores and intraosseous tophus size (p5mm, 106/112 (94.6%) had visible intraosseous tophus, and all (56/56) erosions >7.5mm had intraosseous tophus. There was a strong correlation between CT erosion diameter and intraosseous tophus diameter (r=0.93, p<0.0001). Intraosseous tophi were larger than non-intraosseous tophi, but had similar density and calcification. CONCLUSION: There is a strong relationship between bone erosion and the presence of intraosseous tophus. These results strongly implicate tophus infiltration into bone as the dominant mechanism for development of bone erosion and joint damage in gout.

PMID: 18708415 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Dictionary – CT – Commuted tomography, intraosseous – in bone