Pseudogout

Pseudogout is a form of arthritis that causes sudden episodes of pain and swelling in your joints.

Pseudogout can affect any joint in your body, but it’s most common in:

• Knees.
• Hands and wrists.
• Shoulders.
• Hips and pelvis.
• Elbows.
• Ankles.

Healthcare providers also call pseudogout other names, including:

• Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD).
• Calcium pyrophosphate arthritis.
• Chondrocalcinosis.

All of these names refer to the same condition.

What is the difference between pseudogout vs. gout?

Pseudogout gets its name from how similar it is to gout, another type of arthritis that causes the same kinds of symptoms. “Pseudo” is a prefix that means false, so pseudogout is “false” gout.

Gout happens when there’s too much uric acid in your blood (hyperuricemia) and sharp uric acid crystals clump together in your joints and cause inflammation.

A buildup of a different crystal in your joints causes pseudogout — calcium pyrophosphate (CPP). That’s why calcium pyrophosphate deposition is another name for pseudogout. Deposition means something being deposited.

Gout most commonly affects the joint where your big toe connects to the rest of your foot (the metatarsophalangeal, or MTP joint). Pseudogout doesn’t usually develop in the MTP joint, and is much more common in other, bigger joints.