[Differential diagnosis of knee joint fluid. Enzymatic analysis (author's transl)].

Between 1971 and 1976 clinical and chemical examinations of 165 joint fluids in 149 patients were made. The comparison of clinical findings and results of laboratory tests lead us to distinguish between inflammatory and non-inflammatory joint fluids. The reported tests are simple and results can be given quickly. We do not know of any literature on the incidence of CHE in joint fluids. It seems to be of considerable importance that there is a correlation between the degree of CHE-activity and the degree of cartilagenous lesions. As far as we know no comparative tests on Caeruloplasmin in the serum and in the synovial fluid have been made. The quantitative measurement of uric acid in the synovial fluid is more efficient than other methods. The reported methods simplify the differential diagnosis of synovial fluid effusions.