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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffPseudogout treatment aims to reduce your pain and swelling. No treatments can rid your joints of the CPPD crystals that lead to pseudogout.
Treatments to relieve the pain and inflammation of pseudogout include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Aleve) and indomethacin (Indocin). NSAIDs can cause stomach bleeding and decreased kidney function, especially in older adults, so discuss these risks with your doctor.
- Colchicine. This medication reduces inflammation in people with gout, but it may also be useful in people with pseudogout who can't take NSAIDs. Side effects include stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Rare side effects include bone marrow suppression and intestinal bleeding. To minimize these risks, your doctor will prescribe the lowest dose possible to manage flare-ups — typically not more than two tablets daily.
- Joint aspiration and injection. To relieve pain and pressure in an affected joint, your doctor inserts a needle and removes some of the joint fluid. Then he or she injects a corticosteroid to decrease inflammation and an anesthetic to temporarily numb your joint.
- Rest. Keeping your affected joints still in addition to taking medications may relieve pain and swelling. Your doctor may recommend limiting your activity for a short time.
If your pseudogout is caused by joint trauma or a disease, such as hemochromatosis, your doctor also will treat the underlying condition.
- 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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