CT scans improve diagnosis of gout

Gout is on the march in the UK and it seems that this painful form of inflammatory arthritis is more complicated than had been thought. The standard way to check for gout is by drawing fluid or tissue from an affected joint and looking for uric acid crystals (needle aspiration). Usually that works, but sometimes people can be misdiagnosed with different types of inflammatory arthritis and then treated incorrectly.

New research from the Mayo Clinic has shown that X-rays known as dual-energy CT scans found gout in one-third of people whose aspirates had tested negative for the disease. The CT scans allowed rheumatologists to diagnose gout and treat those people with the proper medication.

The researchers are not suggesting that CT scans should be the first test used to look for gout; needle aspirates work well in most cases, and CT scans weren’t as effective a diagnostic tool in people having their first gout flare-up. But when the diagnosis is uncertain, CT scans are certainly a useful tool to add to the box.

Early diagnosis followed by the correct treatment and lifestyle changes help prevent further gout attacks and the spread of the disease to other joints.

To read the original research in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases click here.