Enfermedad por depósito de cristales de pirofosfato de calcio como ejemplo de forma de manifestación de la enfermedad en el adulto mayor / Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease as an example of illness presentation in the elderly

Illness presentation in the elderly may be entirely non-specific, with fatigue, loss of function or the presence of geriatric syndromes. We report a 90 years old male consulting in the emergency room for delirium that persisted throughout hospitalization without finding a cause. During the course of hospitalization mild fever appeared and a left knee swelling became apparent. A synovial fluid aspiration showed a leukocyte count of 360 per field with 60% polymorphonuclear cells. The culture was negative. With a presumptive diagnosis of pseudogout, cochicine and celecoxib were started with remission of the confusional state. The patient was discharged 13 days after admission in good conditions.

Mielopatía cervical por pseudogota, reporte de un caso clínico / Cervical myelopathy due to pseudogout: case report

Compressive myelopathy due to calcium pyrophosphate crystals deposit is an uncommon pathology. This disease can be isolated or associated with other articular deposits. We present a 78 year-old women with a story of lower limbs weakness and limitation of motion. Myelopathic signs where found on physical examination, so a cervical spine MRI was performed showing C6-C7 thickening and calcification of yellow ligament with compression of the spinal cord from the back. A surgical procedure with decompressive laminectomy and posterior instrumentation from C5 to C7 was performed The patient evolved favorable without postoperative complications and with neurological recovery from M3 to M4 in lower limbs. Histological study of the yellow ligament showed deposits of calcium pyrophosphate crystals. Calcium pyrophosphate crystals deposit is uncommon in the cervical spine, but it must be considered in the differential diagnosis of posterior cervical cord compression.

La mielopatía cervical por depósito de cristales de pirofosfato de calcio es una patología poco frecuente. Ésta puede presentarse aislada o asociada a otros depósitos articulares. Presentamos el caso clínico de una mujer de 78 años con historia de debilidad de extremidades inferiores y limitación de la marcha. Al ingreso la paciente presentaba signos clínicos de mielopatía. La resonancia nuclear magnética de columna cervical evidenció a nivel C6-C7 engrosamiento y calcificación del ligamento amarillo con compresión del cordón medular de atrás adelante. La paciente fue sometida a una laminectomía descompresiva y fusión posterior instrumentada C5-C7 No hubo complicaciones post operatorias y se observó recuperación neurológica de M3 a M4 en el post operatorio. El estudio anatomopatológico del ligamento amarillo mostró reacción inflamatoria crónica y depósitos de cristales de pirofosfato de calcio. El depósito de cristales de pirofosfato de calcio es poco frecuente en la columna cervical, pero debe considerarse en el diagnóstico diferencial de la mielopatía cervical por compresión medular posterior.

Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition: a clinical and laboratory analysis of 91 Thai patients.

The clinical features and laboratory findings of 91 Thai patients (33 males and 58 females) with CPPD crystal deposition disease were studied. Their average age was 71.54 years. Acute monoarthritis and oligoarthritis were the two most common forms of presentation and were seen in 89 per cent of cases. The knee, wrist and ankle were the three most common joints involved. Associated diseases were common and included hypertension (30 cases), renal insufficiency (23 cases), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17 cases), coronary heart disease (13 cases) and diabetes mellitus (12 cases). Eleven patients had malignancies. Five patients had concomitant gout and CPPD crystal deposition disease. The knee and the wrist were the two most common sites of chondrocalcinosis. Of 67 patients who had thyroid function tested, 2 had hyperthyroidism and 5 had hypothyroidism. Hypomagnesemia was seen in 19 per cent. None had hypercalcemia, hypophosphatasia, hemochromatosis or hyperparathyroidism. In contrast to the western series, acute arthritis in our series responded well to oral colchicine alone.

Condrocalcinose articular difusa associada ao hipotiroidismo: relato de um caso e revisäo da literatura / Diffuse articular chondrocalcinosis associated to hypothyroidism: report of a case and review of literature

A condrocalcinose articular difusa tem sido associada ao hipotiroidismo. Relaciona-se o desencadeamento de uma crise ao início da reposiçäo do hormônio tiroidiano. Estudou-se o caso de uma mulher de 35 anos, portadora de hipotiroidismo e artrite dos joelhos e que apresentou por duas vezes piora da flogose articular ao se iniciar o tratamento com hormônio tiroidiano. Apresentava ao exame radiológico alteraçöes do tipo artrose em joelhos, coluna e bacia. As dosagens séricas de retençäo de triiodotironina (T3), tiroxina (T4) por radioimunosensaio (RIE) e do hormônio estimulante da tiróide (TSH) por RIE foram normais, mas teste de estímulo com 200 mcg de hormônio liberador de tirotropina (TRH) mostrou valores aumentados de TSH. A análise do líquido sinovial dos joelhos, utilizando microscópio de luz polarizada compensada com cristal de gipsita, mostrou presença de cristais de pirofosfato de cálcio extra-celulares. Salientamos aqui a importância de se pesquisar a associaçäo de condrocalcinose articular e hipotiroidismo

Clinical pattern of females with crystal-induced arthritis: gout and pseudogout.

Of the 228 patients with crystal-induced arthritis (194 cases of gouty arthritis, 34 cases of pseudogout) seen between 1976 and 1985 at the Medical Service of Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok, 46 of them or 20.2 per cent of the total were female. The females with crystal-induced arthritis included 22 cases of gouty arthritis and 24 cases of pseudogout. Pseudogout was seen more commonly than gouty arthritis during the 10-year period. Both types exhibited a similar pattern with regard to late onset of disease at age 60 or more (75% of the cases with pseudogout and 54% of those with gouty arthritis), monoarticular arthritis as the initial manifestation (83.3% of those with pseudogout and 59.1% of those with gouty arthritis), intermittent pattern (54.2% of those with pseudogout and 86.4% of those with gouty arthritis) and the presence of precipitating factors (37.5% of those with pseudogout and 45.5% of those with gouty arthritis). However, different patterns were observed with regard to the joint of involvement: the knee joint was the most commonly involved joint in pseudogout (75%) but the ankle joint was seen in cases of gouty arthritis (86.4%). Podagra was not observed in cases of pseudogout, although in 22.7% of the patients with gouty arthritis, it was the initial manifestation of the disease. In subsequent attacks of arthritis, monoarticular arthritis (61.5%) and knee joint involvement (75%) were the main features of pseudogout. Oligoarticular arthritis (63.2%) and ankle joint involvement (86.4%) were the main feature of gouty arthritis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)