Gout is the result of hyperuricemia, itself a consequence of a disorder of purine metabolism. This hypuricemia can lead to the deposition of sodium urate crystals in the soft tissues. It is the deposition of sodium urate crystals in and near the joints that causes an intense local inflammatory reaction with episodes of acute joint pain, swelling and functional disability. In the long term, uratic concretions in the soft tissues (tophus) occur, the joints are destroyed (uratic arthropathies), the kidneys also (gouty nephropathy).~Dual-energy CT (Computed Tomography) is a relatively recent technique that allows the identification of certain materials through the analysis of the difference in attenuation of the material exposed to two different X-ray spectra. This technique identifies the crystalline component of tophus.
The main objective is to describe urate deposits (especially in terms of distribution and volume) in soft tissues and bone, and joint erosions and destruction, in adult patients with gout.