Insight into Achieving & Maintaining Target Serum Urate Levels in Gout Patients

The investigators were not able to identify allopurinol start dose or previous allopurinol exposure as factors in achieving or maintaining target serum urate.

“Our study highlights the role of co-morbidities in the achievement of target [serum urate level] with allopurinol,” write the authors. “The presence of two or more co-morbidities was independently associated with 20% lower odds of maintaining target [serum urate level of less than] 6 mg/dL compared with no co-morbidities.”

The authors conclude that a multifaceted approach with several policy initiatives will be necessary to address these factors that appear to influence the effectiveness of allopurinol.

Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.

Reference

1. Singh JA, Yang S, Saag KG. Factors influencing the effectiveness of allopurinol in achieving and sustaining target serum urate in the National Veterans Administration gout cohort. J Rheumatol. 2019 Aug 15. pii: jrheum.190522. [Epub ahead of print]