2023-06-05 17:04:23
During an acute attack, gout can be diagnosed clinically. In addition, however, imaging provides valuable information about the condition of joints that are not acutely affected and about damage that has already occurred. Recommendations for the use of imaging in gout and other crystal arthropathies have now been summarized in a guideline presented at the EULAR Congress 2023.
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Crystal arthropathies (crystal-induced arthropathies – CiA) represent a diverse group of diseases in which deposits of crystalline metabolites in the joint cavity and subsequent arthritis occur. Uric acid or sodium urate (gout), calcium pyrophosphate crystals (chondrocalcinosis), hydroxyapatite crystals (hydroxyapatite deposition disease) and homogentisic acid (ochronotic arthropathy) can crystallize in the joint cavities. Imaging can play an important role in the diagnosis of crystal arthropathies, but is by no means trivial in this indication, as Priv.-Doz. dr Peter Mandl from the Vienna University Clinic for Internal Medicine III. The diseases present themselves clinically with acute episodes of arthritis, followed by asymptomatic episodes.
In its own guideline on the use of imaging in the diagnosis and follow-up of crystal arthropathies, an EULAR task force has created a guideline with evidence-based recommendations. The task force was composed of 25 people from eleven countries with different professional and academic backgrounds. Four systematic literature searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were designed to support the task force’s decisions on 14 questions, considering the indications of gout, chondrocalcinosis, and hydroxyapatite deposition disease.
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