ISOLATED OR DOMINANT LESIONS OF THE PATELLA IN GOUT - A REPORT OF 7 PATIENTS

Isolated or dominant osteolytic lesions of the patella are an unusual manifestation of gout. We present seven patients who had such patellar lesions unilaterally (six patients) or bilaterally (one patient) and analyze the radiologic characteristics to determine whether they can b e differentiated from those of other osteolytic lesions of the patella . The lesions were uniformly characterized by a geographic pattern of bone destruction in the superolateral aspect of the patella. Five lesi ons were each accompanied by a peripatellar soft tissue mass, four of which contained calcification. It therefore appears that an osteolytic lesion of the superolateral portion of the patella, especially when a ssociated with a peripatellar calcified soft tissue mass, should alert one to the possible diagnosis of gout. Awareness of this possibility may obviate the need for invasive diagnostic procedures.