Dual-energy CT can differentiate cardiovascular monosodium urate crystal deposits from calcium deposits in patients with gout, a study shows.

While the technique has been used to detect MSU crystals in joints, the researchers believe theirs is the first study to look at the cardiovascular system.  

Austrian researchers, from the Medical University of Innsbruck, analysed calcium scores and monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposits in 59 patients with gout (mean age 59, 78% men) and 47 controls (mean age 70, 60% men), all of whom underwent dual-energy CT (DECT) at the university’s rheumatology clinic.

Cardiovascular MSU crystals were found in 86% of the patients with gout but in only 15% of the controls, the authors reported in JAMA Cardiology.