ABSTRACT
Axial gout can affect all segments of the spine. It is manifested as back pain, as pain associated with neurological symptoms, and as neurological impairment without pain in 17.9%, 75.8% and 4.2% of cases, respectively. These manifestations were the first presentation of gout in many patients. Although x-rays as well as computed tomography and especially magnetic resonance scans can be very suggestive, histopathological, cytological and crystal analyses are the diagnostic gold standard. In most cases involving neurological manifestations, the patient underwent surgery, leading to satisfactory results. There are, however, some reports of full recovery following the usual clinical treatment for gout, suggesting that such treatment may be the initial option for those subjects with a history of gout and radiological findings of axial involvement.
Subject(s)
Gout/diagnosis , Gout/therapy , Spinal Diseases/diagnosis , Spinal Diseases/therapy , HumansABSTRACT
A gota axial pode afetar todos os segmentos da coluna vertebral. Ela se manifesta como dor nas costas, dor associada com sintomas neurológicos, e como comprometimento neurológico sem dor em 17,9%, 75,8% e 4,2% dos casos, respectivamente. Essas manifestações foram a primeira apresentação da gota em muitos pacientes. Embora radiografias, bem como tomografia computadorizada e especialmente ressonância magnética, possam ser muito sugestivos, análises histopatológicas, citológicas e pesquisa de cristais são o padrão ouro de diagnóstico. Na maioria dos casos que envolveram manifestações neurológicas, o paciente foi submetido à cirurgia, levando a resultados satisfatórios. Há, no entanto, alguns relatos de recuperação total após o tratamento clínico habitual para gota, o que sugere que esse tratamento pode ser a opção inicial para os indivíduos com histórico de gota e sinais radiológicos de envolvimento axial.
Axial gout can affect all segments of the spine. It is manifested as back pain, as pain associated with neurological symptoms, and as neurological impairment without pain in 17.9%, 75.8% and 4.2% of cases, respectively. These manifestations were the first presentation of gout in many patients. Although x-rays as well as computed tomography and especially magnetic resonance scans can be very suggestive, histopathological, cytological and crystal analyses are the diagnostic gold standard. In most cases involving neurological manifestations, the patient underwent surgery, leading to satisfactory results. There are, however, some reports of full recovery following the usual clinical treatment for gout, suggesting that such treatment may be the initial option for those subjects with a history of gout and radiological findings of axial involvement.
Subject(s)
Humans , Gout/diagnosis , Gout/therapy , Spinal Diseases/diagnosis , Spinal Diseases/therapyABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of simple renal cysts in gout patients and evaluate associated risk factors for its development. Hundred and forty-six patients followed at our outpatient Gout Unit and 47 sex- and age-matched healthy kidney donors who had undergone routine renal ultrasonography, using a static gray scale and real-time B-mode units with a 3.5- or 5.0-MHz transducer, were evaluated for the presence of renal cysts. Demographic and clinical characteristics of gout patients were evaluated considering possible risk factors for the occurrence of simple renal cysts such as age, male gender, hypertension, and renal impairment. The prevalence of simple renal cyst was 26.0 % in gout patients and 10.6 % in control group (P = 0.045). Gout patients with simple renal cysts presented less renal lithiasis than those without this complication (5.2 vs 25.9 %; P = 0.003) in spite of an overall higher frequency of renal stones in gout patients compared to control group (20.5 vs. 6.3 %, P = 0.025). The presence of simple renal cyst in gout was not associated with previously reported factors such as age (P = 0.296), male predominance (P = 0.688), hypertension (P = 0.314), and renal impairment (P = 254). Moreover, no association with disease duration (P = 0.843) or tophi (P = 0.616) was observed. In conclusion, gout patients have an increased prevalence of simple renal cysts associated with a lower occurrence of nephrolithiasis. Whether renal cysts have any protective effect in the development of nephrolithiasis in gout remains to be determined.
Subject(s)
Gout/complications , Kidney Diseases, Cystic/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nephrolithiasis/epidemiology , PrevalenceABSTRACT
Goodpasture s syndrome (GS) is an auto-immune disease that is part of the pulmonary-renal syndrome spectrum. It is characterized by the linear deposition of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies (anti-GBM) in glomerular and alveolar basement membrane resulting in alveolar hemorrhage and progressive glomerulonephritis. An early diagnosis is important to decrease clinical morbidity. In the present work we illustrate a GS case initially diagnosed as Wegener s granulomatosis. The patient showed favorable clinical evolution with corticosteroid therapy associated with plasmapheresis and cyclophosphamide.
Subject(s)
Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease , Adult , Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease/diagnosis , Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease/therapy , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
O acometimento axial pela gota é um evento raro, e o envolvimento da coluna torácica foi descrito em apenas 17 casos na literatura. Apresentamos um caso de paciente do sexo masculino de 48 anos com história de gota, sob tratamento irregular com alopurinol e colchicina, que desenvolveu paraplegia aguda decorrente de compressão medular por tofo gotoso. Realizou-se o diagnóstico por meio de ressonância magnética e anatomia patológica. Foi tratado com antiinflamatórios e descompressão cirúrgica com melhora importante, porém parcial. Apesar de o acometimento medular pelo tofo ser um evento raro, deve ser considerado nos casos de síndrome de compressão medular em pacientes com antecedente de gota.
Axial gout is a rare condition and the involvement of the thoracic spine has been described only 17 times in the literature. This paper presents the case of a 48 year-old male patient with a history of gout, under irregular treatment with allopurinol and colchicines, who developed acute paraplegia resulting from spinal cord compression by tophaceous gout. The diagnosis was made using magnetic resonance imaging and anatomic pathology. The patient was treated with anti-inflammatory drugs and surgical decompression and showed important, albeit partial, improvement. Thus, although tophi rarely affect the spinal cord, they should be considered as a possibility in cases of spinal cord compression syndrome in patients with a history of gout.
