Dactylitis: implications for clinical practice.

Objectives: To assess the specificity of dactylitis for the diagnosis of spondyloarthropathy, sarcoidosis, and gout; and to characterize dactylitis specifically associated with gout.

Methods: Dactylitis was prospectively assessed among all individuals presenting to the Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio from 1986 to 1996.

Results: Dactylitis was observed in 12% of individuals with spondyloarthropathy, 17% with sarcoidosis, and 5% with gout, but not in 96 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or in 2,434 patients with osteoarthritis, neck or back pain, or collagen vascular diseases.