Synovial fluid crystal analysis with compensated polarization using a gout analyser in clinical practice.

This article evaluates the use of the U-GAN® gout analyser as a clinical tool for detecting monosodium urate (MSU) and calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals in synovial fluid, which are diagnostic markers for gout and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD). Thirty knee synovial fluid samples were analyzed by rheumatologists using ordinary light microscopy, compensated polarization with the gout analyser, and a fully equipped compensated polarized microscope as the gold standard, while laboratory technicians examined centrifuged samples with the gout analyser. The gout analyser demonstrated 80% sensitivity and 100% specificity in non-centrifuged samples, and laboratory technicians achieved 100% detection in centrifuged samples, indicating that the gout analyser can reliably diagnose gout and CPPD when a fully equipped compensated polarized microscope is unavailable. The study highlights the practical value of the gout analyser in clinical settings where immediate synovial fluid analysis is necessary and specialized microscopes are not accessible.