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The following is a summary of “Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with bone erosion in patients with tophi,” published in the March 2024 issue of Rheumatology by Ji et al.
Prolonged deposition of abundant urate crystals within a joint cavity can lead to bone erosion, resulting in skeletal muscle necrosis and joint deformity over time.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to delineate the clinical features and identify factors linked to bone erosion in individuals with gout who present with tophi.
They enrolled 210 gout patients with tophi, dividing them into a bone erosion group (n = 135) and a non-bone erosion group (n = 75). Utilizing digital radiography (DR), they detected bone erosion in the elbow, wrist, knee, ankle joints, interphalangeal, and metatarsophalangeal joints. Clinical characteristics were meticulously recorded and compared between the two groups. Subsequently, they performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to investigate factors associated with bone erosion.
The results showed that compared to the non-bone erosion group, individuals in the bone erosion group exhibited older age, longer durations of gout and tophi, elevated serum creatinine (sCr) levels, higher prevalence of drinking history and ulceration, and lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed associations between bone destruction and variables such as sex, age, body mass index (BMI), durations of gout and tophi, GFR, white blood cell (WBC) count, sCr level, smoking and drinking history, and presence of ulceration. Multivariable logistic regression analysis further identified tophi duration, drinking history, ulceration, and sCr level positively and independently correlated with bone erosion.
Investigators concluded that Gout patients with tophi and bone erosion have distinct characteristics, including longer tophus duration, history of alcohol consumption, tophus ulceration, and higher serum creatinine levels.
Souce: advancesinrheumatology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42358-023-00336-w
