Woman with Suddenly Painful, Swollen Thumb
The 45-year-old woman turned up in the emergency room with an acutely painful, swollen thumb. Aspiration results were uninformative. What's the diagnosis?
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Aspiration was sterile and no crystals were visible upon light microscopy. A radiograph of her thumb appears at right.
Is this gout or pseudogout? Can you guess the cause?
Click here to see the diagnosis and discussion.
