Gout masquerading rheumatoid arthritis

 

Noorul Ameen S¹, Juhi R^2*, Rajasekaran D³

 

 

Abstract              Gout and Rheumatoid arthritis are relatively a common clinical entity, but their co-existence is very rare. The curiosity has only grown over the years, for many medical researchers to understand the relationship between gout and rheumatoid arthritis. In this case report, we put forward the complaint of a 48-year old male, who on presentation had symmetrical polyarthritis with the involvement of interphalangeal joints. This was initially diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. But later, his synovial fluid analysis showed negatively birefringent crystals positive for monosodium urate crystals and a diagnosis of gout was made. As the patient also had symptoms suggestive of sensory disturbances, a nerve conduction study was done which did show the presence of neuropathy. Later, the symptoms of neuropathy had decreased after lowering the serum uric acid levels and this was attributed to the diagnosis of gouty neuropathy after ruling out all other causes.

Key Words: Gout, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gouty Neuropathy.