Diagnostic arthrocentesis for suspicion of gout is safe and well tolerated

• Main Authors: William J. Taylor, Jaap Fransen, Nicola Dalbeth, Tuhina Neogi, H. Ralph Schumacher, Melanie Brown, Worawit Louthrenoo, Janitzia Vazquez-Mellado, Maxim Eliseev, Geraldine McCarthy, Lisa K. Stamp, Fernando Perez-Ruiz, Francisca Sivera, Hang Korng Ea, Martijn Gerritsen, Carlo A. Scire, Lorenzo Cavagna, Chingtsai Lin, Yin Yi Chou, Anne Kathrin Tausche, Geraldo Da Rocha Castelar-Pinheiro, Matthijs Janssen, Jiunn Horng Chen, Ole Slot, Marco Cimmino, Till Uhlig, Tim L. Jansen
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Immunology and Microbiology; Medicine
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85011867486&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/55912
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

The Journal of Rheumatology Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved. Objective. To determine the frequency of adverse events of diagnostic arthrocentesis in patients with possible gout. Methods. Consecutive patients underwent arthrocentesis and were evaluated at 6 weeks to determine adverse events. The 95% CI were obtained by bootstrapping. Results. Arthrocentesis was performed in 910 patients, and 887 (97.5%) were evaluated for adverse events. Any adverse event was observed in 12 participants (1.4%, 95% CI 0.6-2.1). There was 1 case (0.1%, 95% CI 0-0.34) of septic arthritis. Conclusions. Diagnostic arthrocentesis is associated with a low frequency of adverse events. Septic arthritis rarely occurs.