Crystal-Induced Arthropathy in Elderly Patients Hospitalized for Acute Conditions

BACKGROUND

Arthritis and arthralgia are painful symptoms experienced by many elderly patients during hospitalization. Crystal-induced arthritis (CIA) is one of the most common causes of arthritis worldwide and represents the most common cause of acute arthritis in the elderly.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the incidence of both acute new onset or acute exacerbation of CIA among elderly patients hospitalized due to an acute medical illness.

METHODS

This study comprised 85 patients. Patients aged 70 years and older who complained of any articular pain were included in the study. Exclusion criteria were signs of septic arthritis, chronic use of steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or admission to the hospital due to an acute attack of CIA.

RESULTS

RSynovial aspiration was performed in 76 patients (89%). Joint aspiration yielded a diagnosis in 67 of them (79%). The predominant type of crystal was calcium pyrophosphate dehydrate (68%) followed by monosodium urate (20%). The main causes of hospitalization were acute infectious disease (57%) followed by neurologic and cardiac diseases, 14% and 9% respectively, and orthopedic problems (6%). Among patients with acute infectious disease, the main causes were pulmonary (57%) and gastrointestinal (22%) infections. In 9 patients (12%) who underwent synovial aspiration, visible crystals were identified without a definite diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that hospitalization could be a risk factor for the development of CIA, and the time to diagnose CIA is during hospitalization for other acute illnesses.

Radiological features of crystal-induced arthropathy associated with hereditary hemochromatosis with homozygous C282Y mutation

I present a clinical case of a 64-year-old male patient with hemochromatosis (homozygous C282Y) and crystal induced arthropathy showing the most common radiological features found in this metabolic disorder and the differences that may exist when compared to other primary degenerative processes or other inflammatory pathologies.

Update on calcium pyrophosphate deposition

Calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPPD) associates with ageing, osteoarthritis (OA), uncommon metabolic diseases, mutations and polymorphisms in the ankylosis human gene (ANKH). CPPD is frequently polyarticular, occurs due to a generalised articular predisposition, and the association between CPPD and OA is joint specific, for example CPPD associates with knee OA, but not with hip OA. Other recently identified associations include knee malalignment (knee CC), low cortical BMD and soft-tissue calcification. CPPD is generally asymptomatic. A recent study reported that knees with OA plus CC at the index joint, or at distant joints (in absence of index joint CC), were more likely to have attrition. CPPD can cause acute CPP crystal arthritis, chronic CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis, and is frequently present in joints with OA. Joint aspiration remains the gold standard for diagnosing CPPD, although other promising techniques are emerging. Patients with polyarticular or young onset CPPD should be screened for underlying metabolic abnormalities, however, such testing can be unrewarding. The treatment of CPPD is symptomatic. Acute CPP crystal arthritis is treated with rest, local application of ice-packs, joint aspiration, colchicine and/or intra-articular corticosteroid injection (once infection is excluded). Colchicine, low-dose corticosteroids, hydroxychloroquine and radiosynovectomy are recommended for the treatment of chronic or recurrent acute CPP crystal arthritis. Recent RCTs did not confirm any benefit from methotrexate, and although there is increasing interest in the use of anti-IL1 agents for acute or chronic CPP crystal arthritis, their efficacy has not been formally examined. Unlike gout, currently there are no treatments to eliminate CPP crystal deposits.