A 33 years old female with acute myeloid leukemia was treated with induction chemotherapy of 7-3-5 protocol (Cytarabine, Daunorubicine, Etoposide). On day 15 of chemotherapy; 15 days from the first blood transfusion and 1 day from the last, she developed high-grade fever, general erythroderma, diarrhea, hyperbilirubinemia and evaluation of liver enzymes. A diagnosis of TA- GVHD was suspected. The patients had no response to any therapy and expired 5 days later. TA-GVHD is uncommon complication; there is no effective therapy and high mortality. Since TA- GVHD can be prevented by irradiating blood products with 2,500- 3,500 rads, patients at high risk should receive irradiated blood products only.
Arthritis, Gouty ; diagnosis

Since last August, 29 cases of synovial punch biopsy have been carried out with Franklin-Silverman needle which was used in liver biopsy, instead of the specialized needle for the synovium. Authors report the applicable utility of Franklin-Silverman needle for the synovial biopsy, diagnostic value of this procedure and histopathologic findings of the results. The rate of the technical success to abtain synovial tissue was about 76%. Complications after procedure have been very rarely encountered, consisting of mild transient hemarthrosis. In 17 cases, the histopathologic changes was compatible with their clinical findings. In the remainders, we experienced the failures to get synovial tiasue at all in 7 cases and to give the significant synovial changes in 5 successful specimens. Fortunately, the important diagnostic aid was achieved in 3 cases which were conformed early diagnosis of tuberculous arthritis. This needle biopsy was also thought to contribute to rule out the gouty arthritis from other hyperuricemic conditions. But the histologic changes were non specific inflammatory findings in the synovial mambrane of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, traumatic and infectious arthritis.
Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Needle ; Early Diagnosis ; Hemarthrosis ; Liver ; Needles ; Osteoarthritis ; Synovial Membrane

Gout occurs mainly in monoarthritis and is found in more than 50% of cases in hallux of the foot. In addition, symptoms sometimes begin in the hand, wrist, and elbow, but they are rarely observed in the spine. The patient was referred for tuberculous polyarthritis due to antituberculosis drug failure. Inflammatory findings were observed in the lumbar, elbow, wrist, hand and foot areas. Surgery was performed on the foot area and a pathology diagnosis revealed gouty arthritis. We report this case with a review of the relevant literature.
Arthritis* ; Arthritis, Gouty* ; Diagnosis ; Elbow ; Foot ; Gout ; Hallux ; Hand ; Humans ; Pathology ; Spine ; Wrist

Gout occurs as a response to monosodium urate crystal, that is present in joints, bones and soft tissue. The classic symptoms of gouty arthritis are recurrent attacks of acute, markedly painful monoarticular or oligoarticular inflammation; but polyarthritis and chronic arthritis can also occur. Differential diagnosis from infectious arthritis is important. A definitive diagnosis requires the direct identification of urate crystals in the joint, and the exclusion of infection. We report the case of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), developed from acute polyarticular gout. SIRS is characterized by loss of local control of inflammation, or an overly activated response resulting in an exaggerated systemic response. The SIRS was presumably due to systemic effects of a localized inflammatory response to urate crystals.
Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Gout ; Inflammation ; Joints ; Sepsis ; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome ; Uric Acid

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether synovial fluid adenosine deaminase activity is useful in the differential diagnosis of joint swelling and in estimating the disease activity. METHOD: Adenosine deaminase activity was determined in the synovial fluid taken from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n=21), osteoarthritis (n=ll), ankylosing spondylitis (n=3), and gouty arthritis (n=2). This enzyme activity was compared with the laboratory indices (ESR, CRP) in the blood and the other parameters in the synovial fluid. RESULT: More increased adenosine deaminase activity was found in the synovial fluid taken from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and gouty arthritis, as compared with that of osteoarthritis patients. Synovial fluid ADA activity was significantly corelated with the WBC count in the synovial fluid, but there was no statistical corelation between other synovial parameters and adenosine deaminase activity. CONCLUSION: Adenosine deaminase activity is useful in the differential diagnosis of joint swelling between inflammatory joint disease and osteoarthritis, but not useful in estimating the disease activity.
Adenosine Deaminase ; Adenosine* ; Arthritis, Gouty* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Joint Diseases ; Joints ; Osteoarthritis* ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Synovial Fluid*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in the diagnosis of gouty arthritis.

METHODSSixty-one patients with gout, 30 with ankylosing spondylitis and 30 with rheumatoid arthritis were included in the study. DECT scans of the hands, wrists, elbows, feet, ankles, knees, lumbar, pelvis and sacroiliac joint were performed. For post-processing, a color-coding gout software protocol was used. The demographic data and blood uric acid levels were recorded. For 3 gout patients, the findings of puncture biopsy and DECT were compared. Ten gout patients with urate crystal deposition upon recruitment underwent DECT scans again after a 6-month urate-lowering therapy.

RESULTSThe positivity rates of DECT scan differed significantly among the patients with gout, ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis [98.4% (60/61), 13.3% (4/30), and 6.7% (2/30), respectively; χ² =95.522, P<0.05). Of the 21 patients with acute gouty arthritis, 20 (95.2%) showed positive DECT finding, and all the 40 patients with chronic gouty arthritis showed positive findings. In the patients with patients with gout, ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis, the positivity rates of hyperuricemia were 97.3% (36/37), 44.4% (4/9), and 28.6% (2/7), respectively (χ² =24.197, P<0.05). A total of 344 urate deposition sites were detected in the gout patients, involving most commonly the first metatarsophalangeal joint (22.1%), the middle and distal end of the first phalanges of the toes (19.8%), the calcaneus (17.4%), and the inferior extremity of the tibia (13.4%). Seventeen and 5 urate deposition sites were found in ankylosing spondylitis patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients, respecitvely. The 10 gout patients receiving a 6-month urate-lowering therapy showed decreased urate deposition on DECT scan.

CONCLUSIONSDECT scan can detect urate deposition to allow differentiation diagnosis and follow-up in gout patients.

Arthritis, Gouty ; diagnosis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; diagnosis ; Color ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; diagnosis ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Uric Acid ; analysis

OBJECTIVE: To detect the differentially expressed inflammatory proteins in acute gouty arthritis (AGA) with protein chip. METHODS: The Raybiotech cytokine antibody chip was used to screen the proteomic expression in serum samples of 10 AGA patients and 10 healthy individuals. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were applied to determine the biological function annotation of differentially expressed proteins and the enrichment of signal pathways. ELISA method was used to verify the differential protein expression in 60 AGA patients and 60 healthy subjects. The ROC curve was employed to evaluate the diagnostic value of differential proteins in AGA patients. RESULTS: According to|log CONCLUSIONS Proteomics can be applied to identify the biomarkers of AGA, which may be used for risk prediction and diagnosis of AGA patients.
Arthritis, Gouty/diagnosis* ; Cytokines/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Protein Array Analysis ; Proteomics

Gout is an inflammatory arthritis characterized by deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joints. Though gout frequently involves the big toe or other extremities, it rarely occurs in the spinal canal. A 35-year-old man presented with left L5 radiculopathy. He had leg pain for 8 months and received several epidural steroid injections. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 1.7×1.1-cm ovoid contrast-enhancing mass, causing pressure erosion of the left L5 pedicle. Microscopic laminotomy was performed at the left L5 lamina. White chalky materials, identified at the left lateral recess of the spinal canal, were removed in a piecemeal manner. The histopathologic diagnosis was tophaceous gout. Although the patient's radiating pain did not resolve postoperatively, it was dramatically relieved with uric acid-lowering medications. If a mass effect is suspected, surgical removal of gouty tophi might aid in symptom release and definite diagnosis. Medical treatment after rheumatology consultation is crucial.
Adult ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Gout* ; Hallux ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; Joints ; Laminectomy ; Leg ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radiculopathy ; Rheumatology ; Spinal Canal* ; Uric Acid ; Zygapophyseal Joint

Arthritis damages the cartilage within joints, resulting in degenerative changes, including loss of function and joint instability. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the spine and bone-to-tendon attachment area within the sacroiliac joint leading to back pain and progressive spinal stiffness. In the final stages, AS causes hyperkyphosis-a condition closely tied to the human leukocyte antigen-B27 gene. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease characterized by the simultaneous inflammation of the synovium of multiple joints, leading to joint damage (e.g., destruction, deformation and disability). In the past, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARDs) have been used for the treatment of these autoimmune diseases, but biologic DMARDs have recently been introduced with excellent results. Gout is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes an alteration of joints resulting in severe pain. Specifically, gout is associated with an accumulation of uric acid within the body resulting from dysregulated purine metabolism, causing recurrent paroxysmal inflammation in the joints. Allopurinol and febuxostat are the primary treatment options for individuals with gout. It is necessary to have an accurate understanding of the pathogenesis, pathological ecology and treatment of AS, rheumatoid arthritis, and gouty arthritis, which are the representative diseases that may cause inflammatory arthritis.
Allopurinol ; Antirheumatic Agents ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Arthritis, Reactive ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Back Pain ; Cartilage ; Diagnosis* ; Ecology ; Febuxostat ; Gout ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Joint Diseases* ; Joint Instability ; Joints* ; Leukocytes ; Metabolism ; Sacroiliac Joint ; Spine ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; Synovial Membrane ; Uric Acid

Septic arthritis and gout are major diseases that should be suspected in patients with acute monoarthritis. These two diseases are clinically similar and often indistinguishable without the help of synovial fluid analysis. Recently, a novel diagnostic rule for gout without synovial fluid analysis was developed and showed relevant performances. This study aimed to determine whether this diagnostic rule could perform well in distinguishing gout from septic arthritis. The diagnostic rule comprises 7 clinical and laboratory variables, each of which is given a specified score. The probability of gout is classified into 3 groups according to the sum of the scores: high (> or = 8), intermediate (> 4 to < 8) and low probability (< or = 4). In this retrospective study, we applied this diagnostic rule to 136 patients who presented as acute monoarthritis and were subsequently diagnosed as acute gout (n = 82) and septic arthritis (n = 54) based on synovial fluid analysis. The mean sum of scores of acute gout patients was significantly higher than that of those with septic arthritis (8.6 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.6 +/- 0.32, P < 0.001). Patients with acute gout had significantly more 'high', and less 'low' probabilities compared to those with septic arthritis (Eta[eta]: 0.776). The prevalence of acute gouty arthritis, as confirmed by the presence of monosodium crystal, was 95.5% (61/64), 57.5% (19/33), and 5.1% (2/39) in high, intermediate and low probability group, respectively. The recently introduced diagnostic rule properly discriminates acute gout from septic arthritis. It may help physicians diagnose gout in cases difficult to be differentiated from septic arthritis.
Acute Disease ; *Algorithms ; Arthritis, Gouty/*diagnosis ; Arthritis, Infectious/*diagnosis ; *Data Interpretation, Statistical ; *Decision Support Techniques ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/*methods ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity