Gout is Poorly Understood, Survey Shows

A survey of 1,000 gout patients and 500 caregivers shows that most patients are satisfied with their gout treatments, but nearly 70 percent say that living with pain is par for the course and 25 percent say they haven’t visited their doctor in a year.The survey, conducted by the non-profit group CreakyJoints in March, tells us that most patients do not understand the full impact of gout. Many assume that a gout diagnosis is due to a poor diet and others know little about the effects of over production and under excretion of uric acid.Gout is the most common cause of inflammatory arthritis in adults in the United States. When flares occur, they can be intense and debilitating. It is a complex disease associated with many comorbidities that can make treatment challenging. Comorbidities include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, infections leading to pneumonia and urinary tract infections, renal impairment, diabetes, obesity and hyperlipidaemia.Despite the success of new treatments, gout is often undertreated in both the primary and secondary care settings, report researchers in a recent issue of the British Journal of General Practice. Less than half of patients receive urate-lowering therapies (ULT) and many are prescribed inadequate doses to reduce serum uric acid (sUA) below recommended target levels.Based on the results of the survey, CreakyJoints encourages patients to record and report gout flares to their physician. They also suggest that serum uric acid (sUA) testing should be conducted more frequently to ensure that target levels are being met.In this slideshow, we highlight the results of the survey. 

References:

Also, in Rheumatology Network:  2012 American College of Rheumatology Guidelines for the Management of Gout

"CreakyJoints Issues New Survey of Patients with Gout and Their Caregivers That Portrays Stark Picture of Gout as out of Control," News Release. May 22, 2017.

Br J Gen Pract 2017; 67 (659): 284-285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp17X691313