THERMOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF GOUT COURSE IN COMBINATION WITH NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE AND TREATMENT

Abstract

Summary. Gout is an urgent problem today, as its prevalence has doubled in recent decades. Disorders of thermoregulation and regional blood flow are an important clinical and pathogenetic manifestation of gout, which can be assessed by recording infrared radiation. The aim – to evaluate the thermographic semiotics of gout and thermographic indicators of its course in concomitant non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the effectiveness of their treatment. Material and Methods. 74 male gout patients were examined. They were divided into 2 groups. Group I included 38 patients with gout without liver damage, group II – 36 patients with NAFLD. Both groups were divided into subgroups: IA and IIA who received basic therapy, IB and IIB who additionally received carbon enterosorbent. The control group consisted of 20 healthy individuals. Thermographic study was performed using a thermal imager ULIRvision TI 120. Results. The temperature gradient of symmetrical areas in healthy individuals (control group) was (0.37±0.04) °C. In all patients before treatment thermograms shows a zone of intense hyperthermia with clear contours, which exceeded the size of the visible hyperemia in the affected joint. The temperature gradient in patients with gout without liver damage was (3.99±0.17) °C, and in patients with concomitant NAFLD – (4.41±0.14) °C (p>0.05). On thermograms after treatment in most patients of both groups there was still a zone of hyperthermia. It was smaller in area and intensity, the clarity of the contours was lost. Therapy results were significantly better in patients receiving basic therapy with enterosorbent, but they still did not meet the norm (p<0.05). Conclusion. Thermography makes it possible to determine the change in local temperature of the affected joints at gout during exacerbation, to establish the location and prevalence of the pathological process and to assess the effectiveness of treatment.