Subcutaneous crystal deposition in pseudogout.

Aspiration of inflamed periarticular tissues in seven patients suspected of having gout on clinical examination revealed positively birefringent calcium pyrophosphate crystals. The identification of calcium pyrophosphate crystals within articular structures and in the surrounding soft tissues and radiologic findings of chondrocalcinosis, in the absence of identifiable uric acid crystals, emphasize the importance of crystal identification in all cases of probable gout and stress the diagnostic role of soft-tissue aspiration in cases of soft-tissue inflammation, especially when arthrocentesis is unsuccessful.