Dual-Energy CT of Urate Deposits in Costal Cartilage and Intervertebral Disks of Patients With Tophaceous Gout and Age-Matched Controls.

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2016 May;206(5):1063-7. doi: 10.2214/AJR.15.15356. Epub 2016 Mar 9.
Carr A1, Doyle AJ2, Dalbeth N3, Aati O3, McQueen FM1,4.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether monosodium urate (MSU) deposits could be identified within the abdomen and axial skeleton of patients with tophaceous gout using dual-energy CT (DECT).

CONCLUSION:
DECT of the abdomen, chest wall, and spine revealed extensive MSU deposits in costal cartilages and, to a lesser extent, intervertebral disks in the male patients with gout in our study. These were quantified volumetrically. However, age-matched control subjects showed similar deposits, indicating this was not a disease-specific finding. Thus, MSU deposition in the axial skeleton may be physiologic in middle-aged men.