The following are important in making an official diagnosis of gout.
Upon examination, the doctor might suspect gout—the most common form of inflammatory arthritis—given the symptoms.
Patients should provide the doctor with a thorough health history, answering these and other questions:
- Have you had an experience like this before?
- Have you been diagnosed with hyperuricemia (uric acid levels above 6.8 mg/dL)?
- Has anyone in your family been diagnosed with gout or hyperuricemia?
- Do you have diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension or heart disease?
- Have you had a recent joint injury?
- Do you consume a lot of sugar in your diet?
- If female, have you been through menopause?
Why are these diagnosis steps important?
- Gout is a hereditary disease, so if other family members have been diagnosed, there is a good chance you may have it, too.
- If you have diabetes or kidney disease, you are pre-disposed to gout because your kidneys are not normally excreting uric acid. The build-up of uric acid can lead to gout.
- Uric acid build-up forms crystals around the joints. These crystals can cause inflammation and severe pain. Seeing the crystals under the microscope, or in a scan, allows for a definitive diagnosis.
- A normal uric acid level is less than 6.0 mg/dL. While it is possible, gout is not typically seen in people whose sUA is in the normal range. However, once a person is diagnosed with gout, the person will have gout for life—regardless of future uric acid levels.
ACT scan, ultrasound, MRI and or a synovial joint fluid aspiration will be done to assess for crystals that are proof-positive of a gout diagnosis. A blood test will likely be done to check serum uric acid (sUA) levels.
While a blood test doesn’t provide a definitive diagnosis of gout, it helps the physician understand whether this is a potential diagnosis.
