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Medical Author:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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In this Article

• Pseudogout facts
• What is pseudogout?
• What are causes of pseudogout?
• What are risk factors for pseudogout?
• What are pseudogout symptoms and signs?
• How does a doctor diagnose pseudogout?
• What are treatments for pseudogout?
• What other conditions can accompany pseudogout?
• Are there special circumstances that can promote attacks of pseudogout?
• What are complications of pseudogout?
• What is the prognosis (outlook) of pseudogout?
• Can pseudogout be prevented?
• Find a local Rheumatologist in your town
• Pseudogout Index

Risk factors for pseudogout include hyperparathyroidism, amyloidosis, gout, and degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis).

Pseudogout can result in arthritis of a number of joints. Most common is the knee, but it can also involve the wrists, shoulders, hips, and/or ankles. Pseudogout usually affects only one or a few joints at a time. The "attacks" of joint inflammation, characterized by acute joint swelling, warmth, stiffness, and pain, may last for days to weeks and can resolve spontaneously.

Pseudogout is suggested when abnormal calcifications are seen in the cartilage of joints on X-ray testing. These calcifications are referred to as chondrocalcinosis.

The arthritis of pseudogout is common in older adults, particularly in the context of dehydration such as occurs with hospitalization or surgery.

The diagnosis of pseudogout is ultimately made when fluid from a joint is examined under a special microscope called a polarizing microscope. With this microscope, the calcium pyrophosphate crystals are clearly identified by their characteristic shape and color (medically term weakly positively birefringent rhomboid crystals).