How Do Doctors Diagnose Gout?

• This is the most important diagnostic test. It is the ultimate method of being certain of a diagnosis of gouty arthritis, as opposed to other causes such as an infection in the joint.
• A needle is inserted into the joint to withdraw a sample of fluid for testing.
• The fluid is examined under a microscope to see if there are gout crystals or signs of a bacterial infection present. Sometimes other crystals can be found in the joint fluid, such as calcium pyrophosphate, which is caused by an entirely different condition called pseudogout ("like gout").
• Gouty arthritis is sometimes diagnosed based on the typical clinical presentation without a joint aspiration.