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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffPseudogout signs and symptoms mimic those of gout, so your doctor may first suspect gout. Tests can rule out gout as a cause of your signs and symptoms.
To determine whether pseudogout is causing your pain, your doctor may have you undergo these tests:
- Analysis of joint fluid. Your doctor inserts a needle into your joint to extract a small sample of joint fluid for analysis with a microscope. He or she looks for CPPD crystals in the fluid.
- X-rays. X-rays of your knee can reveal other conditions caused by CPPD crystals, such as crystal deposits in the joint cartilage (chondrocalcinosis) and joint damage.
Your doctor may want to rule out other causes of joint pain and inflammation, such as infection, gout, injury and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Pseudogout. American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/diseases_and_conditions/pseudogout.asp. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Mercier LR. Pseudogout. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009: 380. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/182089558-3/949024313/2088/537.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00025-3--sc0320_11038. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Gravel JG, et al. Rheumatic diseases. In: Rakel RE. Rakel: Textbook of Family Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/182089558-3/949024313/1481/505.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50045-2--cesec51_2681. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Becker MA. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Becker MA. Pathogenesis and etiology of calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease (CPPD) (pseudo gout). The Arthritis Foundation. http://www.arthritis.org/disease-center.php?disease_id=7&df=treatments. Accessed Feb. 15, 2010.
- Richette P, et al. An update on the epidemiology of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease. Rheumatology. 2009;48:711.
- Chang-Miller A (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 23, 2010.
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