Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with bone erosion in patients with tophi

If a large amount of urate crystals is deposited in a joint cavity for an extended period of time, bone erosion will occur and gradually cause skeletal muscle necrosis and joint deformity. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and factors associated with bone erosion in gout patients with tophi.

A total of 210 gout patients with tophi were enrolled and divided into a bone erosion group (n = 135) and a non-bone erosion group (n = 75). Digital radiography (DR) was performed to detect bone erosion in the elbow, wrist, knee, ankle joints, interphalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints. The clinical characteristics were recorded and compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the factors associated with bone erosion.

Compared with the non-bone erosion group, the bone erosion group had an older age, longer disease duration of gout and tophi, higher level of serum creatinine (sCr), higher proportion of drinking history and ulceration, and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Univariate logistic regression analysis results showed that sex, age, body mass index (BMI), gout duration, tophi duration, GFR, white blood cell (WBC) count, sCr level, smoking history, drinking history, and presence of ulceration were associated with bone destruction. Multivariable logistic regression analysis results indicated that tophi duration, drinking history, ulceration and sCr were positively and independently related to bone erosion.

Tophi patients with bone erosion presented different clinical characteristics. Tophi duration, drinking history, ulceration and sCr were associated with bone erosion in gout patients with tophi.