Gout Resource Center

Gout is a common form of inflammatory arthritis, affecting ~9.2 million adults (3.9%) in the U.S. The good news: The etiology of gout is well understood, and effective, inexpensive medications exist to treat it. However, gaps in quality of care persist. Below, explore selected content from The Rheumatologist’s collection of research reviews, case reports and clinical articles on advances in the diagnosis and management of gout. New features are added often, so check back frequently.

Gout expert Lisa Stamp, MBChB, FRACP, PhD, sorted through the 60+ research abstracts on gout accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022 to bring you the most important concepts and findings.

FEATURED ARTICLE: Gout & Excess Risk of Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Reducing Immunogenicity of Pegloticase ... Click here to view abstract video

Reducing Immunogenicity of Pegloticase ... Click here to view visual abstract summary

Pseudo-What? Exploring the Classification Criteria Development Process for CPPD

PHILADELPHIA—The term pseudogout has been a source of confusion among rheumatologists, especially as our understanding of calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPPD) disease has become more nuanced. This condition has many complex and interesting facets that warrant closer investigation. An ACR Convergence 2022 session sought to update the audience on the progress to date in developing… [Read More]

Rheumatic Disease Research in Indigenous Populations

This ACR Convergence 2022 session focused on ways to improve health equity in Indigenous populations.... [Read More]

Is Gout an Autoinflammatory Syndrome After All?

PHILADELPHIA—The term autoinflammatory syndrome was coined by Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md., not long after he discovered that mutations in the gene MEFV, which codes for the protein pyrin, are responsible for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF).1 Early on, the term was meant to signify monogenic conditions in which… [Read More]

Gout Research at a Glance

PHILADELPHIA—Approximately 60 research abstracts on gout were accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022, including two plenary abstract presentations. It is exciting to see a wealth of research on gout being undertaken worldwide. Here, we highlight important points from seven of these studies. 1. Abstract 1810: Frequency and Patterns of Opioid Use in the Management… [Read More]

Options for Refractory Gout, ILD & More

PHILADELPHIA—At the first Plenary Session of ACR Convergence 2022, on Saturday, Nov. 12, speakers shared key research findings on the efficacy and safety of methotrexate as a co-therapy with pegloticase in refractory gout, the effectiveness of rituximab and cyclophosphamide in connective tissue disease associated-interstitial lung disease and the value of remote education for primary care… [Read More]

Top Research in Gout Presented at ACR Convergence 2022

With ~60 research abstracts on gout accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022, filtering the noise to get to the key thoughts may be challenging. Lisa Stamp, MBChB, PhD, can help. A rheumatologist, professor of medicine and the associate dean of research at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand, she has extensively researched… [Read More]

Gout Is an Autoinflammatory Metabolic Disease

On Monday, Nov. 14, Michael Pillinger, MD, will moderate the session Gout Is an Autoinflammatory Metabolic Disease at ACR Convergence 2022. This session will address the autoinflammatory nature of gout and highlight it as an IL-1β-mediated diseases. Increasing knowledge on the inflammatory mechanisms of gout has implications for disease management. These engaging talks will review… [Read More]

3 AC&R Study Summaries: Fractures in Patients with SSc, Clinical Response in JIA, & TV & the Public Perception of Gout

Fractures in Patients with SSc By Zsuzsanna McMahan, MD, MHS Why was this study done? To minimize disability due to systemic sclerosis (SSc), it’s important to prevent and manage complications. Many SSc complications and related medications may increase the risk for osteoporosis and fracture. We sought to identify modifiable risk factors for fracture in patients… [Read More]

Pegloticase Plus Methotrexate Effective for Uncontrolled Gout

The 12-month results of the MIRROR study show pegloticase co-administered with methotrexate is beneficial for patients with uncontrolled gout.... [Read More]

Treat to Target Lowers the Risk of Fracture in Patients with Gout

Using data from the U.K.’s Health Improvement Network, a primary care database, Wei et al. examined whether urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in a treat-to-target approach for patients with gout reduces the risk of fracture.... [Read More]

Tigulixostat Promising for Patients with Gout & Hyperuricemia

In a dose-finding, clinical trial, Terkeltaub et al. examined the safety and efficacy of tigulixostat, a nonpurine xanthine oxidase inhibitor, for lowering the serum urate levels of patients with gout and hyperuricemia. ... [Read More]

3 AC&R Study Summaries: Treat to Target in Gout, Response to Biologics in Patients with JIA, & Rehabilitation Dose in Adults with RA

Treat to Target in Gout Monitoring & achievement of target serum urate levels By Jing Li & Gabriela Schmajuk, MD, MS Why was this study done? The ACR’s 2020 guideline for the management of gout recommends using a treat-to-target (T2T) approach to lower serum urate (SU). Using the ACR’s RISE registry, we examined the use… [Read More]

Gout & Excess Risk of Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection

In this large, population-based study, Xie et al. found that the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 30-day hospitalization and 30-day death were higher among individuals with gout than individuals without gout in the general population, irrespective of COVID-19 vaccination status.... [Read More]

Considering Benzbromarone as First-Line Therapy for Gout

In this comparative effectiveness clinical trial, Yan et al. set out to compare nontitrated, low-dose benzbromarone (not approved in the U.S.), a renal urate transporter 1 inhibitor, with low-dose febuxostat as the first-line therapy in gout patients with renal uric acid underexcretion.... [Read More]

Understanding the Role of Uric Acid in Gout

From the first substantial argument in the 19th century that uric acid played a role in gout, it took about 100 years for the medical community to accept its role in triggering acute inflammatory gout attacks. Two papers, both published in 1962, helped demonstrate the link between uric acid and acute gout attacks, quickly opening… [Read More]

Case Report: CPPD Presenting as Pseudosepsis

Calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease (CPPD) is an arthritis caused by the accumulation of calcium pyrophosphate crystals. Despite a prevalence of 4–7% among the adult population in Europe and the U.S., it has remained a relatively under-recognized disease owing to its many clinical presentations.1 CPPD may cause an acute mono/oligoarthritis, which may mimic gout or… [Read More]

Refractory Gout Is a Myth: Tips from an Expert

At this EULAR 2022 session, one expert explains why he believes refractory gout is caused by mismanagement and discussed ways around treatment obstacles.... [Read More]