When patient presents with gout attacks most often patients present with complaints of severe pain, erythema and swelling of the particular joint. As a result, during the clinical evaluation phase it is important to consider a broad differential diagnosis because many disorders can present with similar clinical features. Pseudo gout, septic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, cellulitis, acute fracture should be considered as differential diagnosis for patients with above mentioned symptoms (Dunphy et al., 2015, p. 914).
Pseudo gout is a type of arthritis that causes sudden painful swelling in the joints. Unlike primary or secondary gout, pseudo gout occurs when calcium pyrophosphate crystals form in the synovial fluid or deposit on the cartilage. Even though pseudo gout is more common in older population it should be ruled out in younger patients as well especially with no history of prior gout attacks. This can be done by obtaining synovial fluid with aspiration of the joint (Kennedy-Malone et al., 2014, p. 395). …show more content…
Gout can go hand in hand with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Differentiating between gout and other forms of arthritis is important as treatments are different (Anderson, 2016). Rheumatoid arthritis can resemble gout symptoms and can be rolled out by rheumatoid factor titer (Dunphy et al., 2015, p. 914). Septic arthritis is bacterial infection that leads to inflammatory response and is considered to be a medical emergency as it can lead to rapid anatomical and functional impairment (Tejera, Riveros, Martínez-Morillo, & Cañellas, 2014). Septic arthritis should be considered when patients present with inflammatory symptoms and these patients should undergo arthrocentesis to rule it out (Kennedy-Malone et al., 2014, p.
Pseudo gout is a type of arthritis that causes sudden painful swelling in the joints. Unlike primary or secondary gout, pseudo gout occurs when calcium pyrophosphate crystals form in the synovial fluid or deposit on the cartilage. Even though pseudo gout is more common in older population it should be ruled out in younger patients as well especially with no history of prior gout attacks. This can be done by obtaining synovial fluid with aspiration of the joint (Kennedy-Malone et al., 2014, p. 395). …show more content…
Gout can go hand in hand with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Differentiating between gout and other forms of arthritis is important as treatments are different (Anderson, 2016). Rheumatoid arthritis can resemble gout symptoms and can be rolled out by rheumatoid factor titer (Dunphy et al., 2015, p. 914). Septic arthritis is bacterial infection that leads to inflammatory response and is considered to be a medical emergency as it can lead to rapid anatomical and functional impairment (Tejera, Riveros, Martínez-Morillo, & Cañellas, 2014). Septic arthritis should be considered when patients present with inflammatory symptoms and these patients should undergo arthrocentesis to rule it out (Kennedy-Malone et al., 2014, p.