Florid Polyarticular Gout Mimicking Septic Arthritis

Elderly Patients Exhibit Stronger Inflammatory Responses during Gout Attacks

Gout attacks are often accompanied by systemic inflammatory response. The aim of the retrospective study was to compare gout patients in different age groups in terms of their clinical features at gout attacks. Patients, who were treated for gout attack in two tertiary medical centers between January 2000 and April 2014, were divided into young (≤ 50 years), middle-aged, and elderly (> 65 years) groups. Patients in three age groups were compared in terms of presence of fever (> 37.8°C), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and erythrocyte sedimentation ratio (ESR) at the gout attacks. Monocytes, which were isolated from 10 consecutive patients who previously experienced gout attacks, were stimulated with monosodium urate (MSU) crystals and cytokine production was measured by flow cytometry. Among 254 patients analyzed in this study, 48 were young, 65 were middle-aged, and 141 were elderly. The elderly patients were more likely to have fever (51.1%) during the attack than the young (20.8%) and middle-aged (30.8%) patients (P < 0.001 by χ² test). They were also more likely to have higher ESR and CRP levels than the young patients (P = 0.002 for ESR, P < 0.001 for CRP). Patients' age correlated significantly with CRP and ESR levels (both P < 0.001). After stimulation with MSU, the production of interleukin-1β by monocytes increased with patients' age (r = 0.670, P = 0.03). In conclusion, gout attacks in elderly patients are associated with fever and higher ESR and CRP levels, often resembling a septic arthritis.

Septic arthritis in rheumatology: review of five cases

This report illustrates five cases of patients admitted to medical ward in HUKM, diagnosed and treated as septic arthritis over the course of two months. Their age ranged from 32 to 67 years old with one patient had history of monoarticular pain and the other four had polyarticular pain. Two of these patients had pre-existing joint disease, namely gouty arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and another patient with background history of mixed connective tissue disease on long term steroid therapy. The diagnosis of septic arthritis was made mainly from clinical assessment, supported by synovial fluid assessment and blood investigations. All patients received minimum of two weeks intravenous antibiotic followed by one month course of antibiotic. All of them had arthrocentesis for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes and two had laparoscopic arthroscopy with wash out done.

Gout, have we met before? No, not like this

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Extra-articular symptoms could be the first manifestation of gouty arthritis (GA); polyarticular GA can mimic an infectious arthritis; infection can complicate GA.

CASE

A 66-year-old male with a history of gout presented with high fever and excruciating bilateral calf pain for 1 day. Examination revealed chronic knee effusions; range of motion in both knees was limited by calf pain. Joint aspiration showed negatively birefringent intracellular crystals and normal gram stain.

HOSPITAL COURSE

While receiving empiric antibiotics fever continued and he developed bilateral knee, right ankle, and shoulder pain. After demonstration of urate crystals and exclusion of infection, antibiotics were discontinued and steroids initiated. Fever, calf pain, and polyarthritis quickly resolved.

DISCUSSION

Polyarticular gouty attack is an uncommon presentation of gout, and can mimic several other conditions. An exceptional presentation of this entity is excruciating calf pain, probably caused by tenosynovitis or referred pain preceding an acute polyarticular gouty attack.