Pseudorheumatoid disability man with chronic tophaceous gout: a case report.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthropathy that affects the peripheral joints and results from the accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the synovial fluid and other tissues. This disease is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 years of age. The fundamental biochemical abnormality in gout is an increase in serum urate (SU) concentration. These needle-like crystals induce not only acute episodes of inflammatory process into the surrounding area, but also, in the long-term history of the disease, chronic inflammation that is associated with changes in articular and periarticular structures. The next step caused by deposited MSU crystals is represented by the tophus formation and chronic gouty synovitis. The presence of tophi has been associated with greater physical functional disability in gout patients. We presented a case of severe chronic tophaceous gout in a 48-year-old man with chronic hand arthritis and urolithiasis, to point the significance of complex assessment (clinical, functional, imagistic and histological exams) in the diagnosis of a soft tissue lesion, especially in hands.