musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Calcium Pyrophosphate Arthritis
Key Points
Asymptomatic chondrocalcinosis becomes more common with age, particularly in the knee, hip, wrist, annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disks, and symphysis pubis but does not require treatment. CPP arthritis can affect the knee and large peripheral joints and mimic other forms of arthritis (eg, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis). Examine joint fluid for characteristic rhomboid- or rod-shaped crystals in synovial fluid that are not birefringent or are weakly positively birefringent, and exclude joint infection. For acute symptoms, treat with an intra-articular corticosteroid, an oral NSAID,colchicine, or oral corticosteroids;anakinracan also be effective. 