Cervical Myelopathy Secondary to Gout: Case Report^*

Abstract

Gout is a crystalline arthropathy frequent in the population, but gouty spondyloarthropathy, also called axial gout, is uncommon. The current case report presents a rare case of cervical myelopathy secondary to axial gout. A 50-year-old female patient, without previous pathologies, presented with loss of strength, altered sensitivity, and pyramidal release for 2 years. The computed tomography showed a lytic image in the spinous process of C7, and signs of myelopathy with myelomalacia on magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine. After the surgical procedure and biopsy of the material, the diagnosis was gout, and treatment for the pathology was started, with complete improvement of the condition. The diagnosis of axial gout should be included in the spectrum of the differential diagnosis of diseases that affect the spine. Although gouty spondyloarthritis (or spondylitis) is uncommon, there is an underestimated occurrence due to the lack of investigation of the cases. The early diagnosis and treatment of the pathology can prevent patients from presenting complications of the disease, as reported in the present study.

Keywords
gout; spinal cord compression; paraparesis