First Presentation of Acute Pseudogout Following Total Knee Replacement

INTRODUCTION: Infection of a total knee replacement (TKR) is a very serious complication of knee arthroplasty surgery as the repercussions for the patient often include long-term antibiotics, further surgery, revision surgery, and worse outcomes in the long-term including increased morbidity and mortality. As such, the careful assessment of a patient presenting with an acutely inflamed TKR is of paramount importance. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a patient presenting with the clinical signs and symptoms of an acute infection of their TKR. The patient was ultimately diagnosed as having pseudogout. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that crystal arthropathy must be one of the differential diagnoses for a suspected infection of a TKR, as failure to recognize this may result in unnecessary and detrimental treatment.