How to dissolve urate crystals?

Gout is a kind of lens-related arthropathy caused by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU), which is directly related to hyperuricemia caused by purine metabolism disorder and/or decreased uric acid excretion.

With the improvement of living standards, the incidence of hyperuricemia and gout has also increased significantly, and the onset age is getting younger and younger.

The deposition site of tophus is actually urate crystals, which are often deposited in articular cartilage, synovial bursa, helix, tendon sheath, tissues around joints, subcutaneous tissue and renal interstitial, causing corresponding symptoms.

The tophi gradually increases, which can deform joints or bones, and even eventually lead to deformity. If it happens in the kidney, it will also cause kidney calculi's disease and even renal failure, which will pose a serious threat to the life and health of patients.

Risk probability of gout The occurrence of gout is based on high uric acid level. Of course, many people may know that not all patients with high uric acid will develop gout, but of course, the higher the uric acid level, the greater the probability of gout.

Studies have shown that if the blood uric acid exceeds 540, there is a 5% chance of forming urate crystals; If the long-term value of 540 exceeds 5 years, the probability of urate crystallization will be as high as 20%; If the serum uric acid is higher than 600 for a long time, there will be a 30.5% chance of gout.

Therefore, people with high uric acid without gout must control the uric acid level to avoid the formation of gout stones.

How to find a small amount of urate crystals? In real life, urate crystals have sometimes formed, but due to the small amount, they have not made waves and brought no obvious symptoms. Patients who are ignorant and unconscious are likely to continue their unhealthy lifestyle, but in the future, they are likely to cause local inflammation after accidents such as injury, catching cold or overeating, leading to gout attacks.

How do patients with hyperuricemia find tiny urate crystals?

1, musculoskeletal ultrasound examination

Can be judged by musculoskeletal ultrasound. Musculoskeletal ultrasound is a new ultrasonic examination technique in recent years. Its principle is to use high-frequency ultrasound to diagnose musculoskeletal diseases, which can clearly show superficial soft tissue structures such as muscles, tendons, ligaments and peripheral nerves and their pathological changes, such as structural abnormalities caused by inflammation, tumors, injuries and deformities, and of course, the examination of urate crystals. High-frequency ultrasound can display soft tissue lesions like MRI, so it can finely distinguish the anatomical structures of muscles, superficial nerves and other parts, with high accuracy and precision, no radiation, no pain for patients, low cost, and no special increase in time cost and economic cost for patients.

2, dual-energy CT

Dual-energy CT system can use two kinds of X-rays with different energy to image the object, and can accurately get the composition ratio of the object. Dual-energy CT has certain radiation to human body, which is not suitable for special people, such as pregnant women and pregnant women, and the cost is relatively high.

How to dissolve tophi? Uric acid is a slightly soluble substance, and its saturated solubility in blood is 384 μ mol/L. When the concentration of urate in our blood exceeds this value, supersaturated urate crystals will precipitate from the blood. Therefore, the most important thing is to control the uric acid level to prevent the precipitation of urate crystals and promote the dissolution of urate crystals. It is generally recommended to control the urate level below 360. If gout recurs and tophi has formed, it is suggested that the serum uric acid should be controlled below 300, so that the formed urate crystals can be effectively dissolved. In addition, local hot compress can be carried out to increase the solubility of urate by increasing the local temperature.

Obviously, urate crystals can be re-dissolved, but this is a long-term process, which may take one year, two years or even longer. Patients need to adhere to medication and lifestyle improvement for a long time.