Abdul Abdellatif, MD: Early Osteopenia Interventions Needed for Patients With Kidney Disease and Gout

A recent analysis of immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) with uncontrolled gout has elucidated the prevalence of bone erosion and joint damage in this population.

The analysis, generated from baseline dual-energy CT (DECT) scans of participants in the PROTECT study evaluating pegloticase, were presented at The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2024 in San Diego, California, held October 23-26, by Abdul Abdellatif, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and chief of nephrology at CLS Health in Texas.

“Bone disease in these patients could be much more complicated than we thought, and intervention most likely would need to be much more than we think... If [these patients]develop gout, in addition to their underlying disease mineral bone density disorder and chronic kidney disease (CKD), these patients are at higher risk for bone damage, increased risk for bone fractures, and so on,” Abdellatif told HCPLive during the meeting.

Abdellatif went over the new findings from the analysis with HCPLive and discussed how these findings may help inform treatment and screening of patients with CKD and gout. He stressed that clinicians should be aiming to prevent the progression of bone disease in these patients, treating underlying osteopenia, and screening for bone damage much earlier in the disease course to prevent further progression.

He further expanded on how knowledge of patients’ osteopenia will help to make treatment choices, and how early intervention of osteopenia may allow the bone to heal the damage it has sustained.

“We should be more proactive in treating these patients and not waiting till they have significant damage. [We need] to screen them much earlier in their disease state to prevent progression of bone damage in these patients,” Abdellatif urged.

REFERENCE

Marder BA, Dalbeth N, Abdellatif AA, et al. Dual-Energy CT Bone Findings in Kidney Transplant Recipients with Uncontrolled Gout. Presented at: ASN Kidney Week 2024; San Diego, California; October 23-26. Abstract FR-PO251