Gouty panniculitis in a 68-year-old man: case report and review of the literature

Background Gouty panniculitis is a very rare disease. To date, only eight patients have been reported. In each case, time to diagnosis was lengthy. We describe a 68-year-old man with a 6-month history of tender, erythematous plaques and nodules involving the anterior aspects of the legs Methods and results Histologic examination led to the diagnosis of gouty panniculitis. Conclusion Review of the literature and the present case suggests that hyperuricemia is a necessary but probably not sufficient condition for gouty panniculitis. Why gouty panniculitis very seldom arises as a manifestation of gout is puzzling. In almost all reported patients, uricostatic or uricosuric therapy leads to clinical improvement of the disease.