01.12.2011 | Case report | Ausgabe 1/2011 Open Access
Multiarticular chronic tophaceous gout with severe and multiple ulcerations: a case report
- Zeitschrift:
- Journal of Medical Case Reports > Ausgabe 1/2011
Wichtige Hinweise
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1752-1947-5-397) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
EF, ER and SM participated in the sequence alignment, researched sources for the references and drafted the manuscript. EP took the photographs and drafted the manuscript. KVB and CV helped in the interpretation of the photos and helped draft the final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Abstract
Introduction
Gout is a common inflammatory arthritis caused by articular precipitation of monosodium urate crystals. It usually affects the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot and less commonly other joints, such as wrists, elbows, knees and ankles.
Case presentation
We report the case of a 75-year-old Caucasian man with tophaceous multiarticular gout, soft-tissue involvement and ulcerated tophi on the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the left foot, on the first interphalangeal joint of the right foot and on the left thumb.
Conclusion
Ulcers due to tophaceous gout are currently uncommon considering the positive effect of pharmaceutical treatment in controlling hyperuricemia. Surgical treatment is seldom required for gout and is usually reserved for cases of recurrent attacks with deformities, severe pain, infection and joint destruction.