The purpose of this study was to investigate whether monosodium urate (MSU) deposits could be identified within the abdomen and axial skeleton of patients with tophaceous gout using dual-energy CT (DECT).
DECT of the abdomen, chest wall, and spine revealed extensive MSU deposits in costal cartilages and, to a lesser extent, intervertebral disks in the male patients with gout in our study. These were quantified volumetrically. However, age-matched control subjects showed similar deposits, indicating this was not a disease-specific finding. Thus, MSU deposition in the axial skeleton may be physiologic in middle-aged men.