Wu M, et al. - In patients with gout, researchers determined the prevalence, distribution and factors related to bone erosion detectable by ultrasound. Ultrasound scans in 980 gout patients were performed and bone erosion was detected. The prevalence and distribution of bone erosion was calculated in gout patients. The most powerful factor associated with bone erosion was a tophus with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.218. A high percentage of gout patients suffered from bone erosion; the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint was the most common site. Factors associated with bone erosion in gout patients were age, duration of gout, tophi and synovial hypertrophy. The number of tophi, but not their size, was strongly related to bone erosion in gout patients.