Diagnosis of gout, what tests should be performed? 8 kinds of inspection items are indispensable
Nowadays, people's quality of life is improving year by year, and food culture is becoming more and more abundant, but various chronic diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and gout, have followed. Gout is known as the disease of wealth and it shows a trend of younger people. It does not mean gout when you feel red, swollen and painful, and further examinations are needed to diagnose it.
How is gout diagnosed?
- Blood uric acid and urine uric acid detection
Hyperuricemia is the root cause of gout attacks, and it is helpful to determine whether you have gout by detecting blood uric acid. Uric acid should be detected after 5 days of purine-restricted diet. If the excretion of uric acid exceeds 3.57 mmol per liter, it indicates an increase in the production of uric acid.
- Inflammatory indicators
Inflammatory indicators include C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, as well as blood routine. During an acute attack of gout, platelets, white blood cells, and neutrophils will increase, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate will increase, and the C-reactive protein will increase. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish from infection.
- Metabolic related indicators
Generally, patients with primary gout are accompanied by metabolic syndrome, such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension and hyperglycemia, so it is necessary to check the glycosylated hemoglobin, blood lipids, blood sugar, blood pressure, and islet function.
- Related differential diagnosis and blood test
If the characteristics of arthritis in patients are not typical, they need to be differentiated from other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, infectious and basic arthritis, and rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibody tests should be considered.
- Relevant organ damage indicators
If the gout patients do not receive scientific and standardized treatment, the blood uric acid will continue to rise, and it is easy to form crystals in the kidneys, causing gouty nephropathy or kidney stones, and then affecting renal function. Therefore, it is necessary to test urine routine and renal function, as well as glomerular filtration rate and microalbumin, to see if there is any gouty nephropathy.
- Joint B-ultrasound
If tophi is formed, during joint B-ultrasound examination, there may be a heterogeneous soft round mass with anechoic edges, with or without an echogenic halo around it. A typical deposition pattern of salt crystals is seen on joint radiographs. There are hyperechoic spots in the joint cavity, which are mainly manifested as limited hyperechoic spots in the joint effusion, and hyperechoic suspended particles also appear on the synovium.
- Joint x-ray examination
Joint X-ray examination during acute gout attacks may show non-characteristic soft tissue swelling. X-ray examination of patients with chronic gouty arthritis can reveal bone erosion and destruction, and the articular surface becomes irregular, showing moth-eaten or arc-shaped bone translucent defects.
- Urinary imaging examination
Patients with chronic gouty arthritis need to pay attention to kidney damage. Ultrasonography in patients with gouty nephropathy can find kidney shrinkage and cortical thinning. Urinary tract stones can be found on ultrasonography in uric acid nephrolithiasis because the stones can cause dilatation of the renal pelvis and hydronephrosis.
Kind tips
Once diagnosed as gout, it is necessary to actively cooperate with the doctor for treatment, and rationally use drugs to reduce the level of uric acid. At the same time, it is also necessary to do a good job in life conditioning, and stay away from high-purine foods such as animal offal, seafood, and thick broth. Regularly participate in physical exercise to maintain a normal weight and avoid obesity. Refuse to drink alcoholic beverages, carbonated beverages and fruit juices. Drink plenty of water and urinate more to keep your uric acid levels stable. In winter, pay attention to keeping your body warm, especially to protect your joints and prevent colds, so as not to cause gout attacks.