Anakinra treatment of acute calcium deposits in hand and wrist

Acute calcium deposit (ACD) in the hand and wrist is a cause of acute pain due to crystal-induced soft-tissue inflammation. There are no standard management guidelines for this condition, which is frequently treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), with variable efficacy, some patients presenting symptoms for several months. We retrospectively analyzed the results of all patients treated with anakinra for hand or wrist ACD in our department in 2020. We extracted data on treatment duration, pain, range of motion, skin erythema, hypervascularization, edema, and X-ray findings. Ten patients were treated for hand or wrist ACD with anakinra 100 mg per day for a mean 2.7 days. We observed rapid and significant improvement in pain, range of motion, local erythema and edema from day 2 and a decrease in skin temperature from day 3. Calcifications significantly decreased in size or disappeared in the majority of the patients. There were no adverse events or recurrences at 1 year's follow-up. Anakinra was associated with significant clinical improvement after only two days' treatment and may be considered to treat patients with hand or wrist ACD, especially in case of contraindications to NSAIDs or glucocorticoids. Further controlled studies are needed to confirm the present observations.