Joint Complaints in Polycythaemia Vera.

The reported incidence of gout and hyperuricaemia in polycythaemia vera has varied in different series. Thus Tinney, Polley, Hall, and Giffin (1945) reported clinical gout in 4 7 per cent. of 168 cases, Videbaek (1950) in 9 per cent. of 125 cases, and Lawrence, Berlin, and Huff (1953) in 7 per cent. of 159 patients, and unspecified arthritis in a further 14 per cent. On the other hand, Wasserman (1954) found gout in only 1 9 per cent. of 270 patients. The frequency of hyperuricaemia is less well documented, but Stroebel and Law (1956) noted its occurrence in 28 per cent. of patients with polycythaemia vera and a normal peripheral white blood cell count, and in 54 per cent. of patients with a myeloid immaturity. The present paper reports the incidence of joint complaints and hyperuricaemia in an unselected group of patients suffering from polycythaemia vera.