Treatment of gout 

Summary points   What is gout   Treatment of gout   Indications for Uric acid lowering therapy   Lifestyle interventions   Pharmacists have a key role in the care of people with gout   Prevalence and impact of gout   References   Issue 8 Contents

---

Full colour PDF of the pages as they appeared in ‘best practice’.
 Printer friendly PDF.

KEY ADVISER
Dr Nicola Dalbeth, Rheumatologist and Senior Lecturer, Department of Medicine, University of Auckland
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to Dr Peter Gow and Dr Doone Winnard for their review of this article.

Summary points

1. Gout is a major cause of arthritis in New Zealand, with high rates of severe disease in Māori and Pacific patients
2. Gout causes significant disability in Māori and Pacific men of working age
3. All patients with gout should have cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment, and intensive management of modifiable risk factors
4. Long-term preventive therapy with allopurinol is critical for effective gout management:
   • Prescribe early, before development of tophi
   • Monitor serum uric acid levels
   • Aim for target serum uric acid <0.36 mmol/L
   • Introduce gradually: ‘start low and go slow’
   • Use colchicine prophylaxis
5. Minimise diuretic therapy in patients with gout

Submit a comment about this article

View comments about this article

Page  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Page 1