Spinal involvement is considered to be a rare complication of gout. We report a case of a 48-year-old woman with chronic tophaceous gout, recently desensitized to allopurinol, who presented with an L4 radiculopathy. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the lumbosacral spine revealed an extradural process at L4 level. Three months before this episode, for unrelated reasons, the patient had an MRI of her entire spine, which was normal. Laminectomy was performed revealing a large gouty tophus. The fact that a large gouty tophus formed over this short a period of time causing neurologic symptoms highlights the importance of aggressive medical management of patients with longstanding tophaceous gout with urate-lowering agents. Spinal extradural gout could lead to neurologic deficits necessitating emergent surgery for decompression, exposing the patient to further risk. Every effort should be made to lower the serum uric acid level by maximizing the pharmacologic regimen and, if necessary, desensitizing the patient, like in our case, if there is a history of allergy to allopurinol.
Evaluation and prevention of falls begin with a thorough understanding of their occurrence. Post-fall assessment (PFA) tools should be available to sufficiently guide nursing staff in identification of all possible causes. Absence of empirically tested PFA tools led to the development of the Post-Fall Index (PFI). Developed and validated in three phases, a 76-item PFI was first tested for content validity by national experts. Next, it was tested for feasibility with registered nurses practicing in nursing homes. Last, it was piloted with a sample of 30 falls by older residents of a skilled nursing unit in a continuing care retirement community. Review of data from these 30 falls provided the item analysis. Reflective of evidenced-based guidelines, a 30-item PFI emerged, containing essential items causing falls. Although lengthier than incident reports, its comprehensiveness was deemed of higher value. Large absolute agreement of items (70%-100%) indicates good interrater reliability. The PFI is valid, reliable, and feasible and has clinical utility for the secondary prevention of falls.
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