Search

To examine the management of gout in general practice in Townsville, Australia, and to explore comorbid conditions in patients with gout. Study will also explore how closely guidelines are being followed in managing gout. Retrospective chart review was conducted from May to November 2014 in three general practices in Townsville. Registers for patients were established by searching 'gout' and 'gouty arthritis'. Three hundred and twenty-one patients were included in the study after excluding inactive patients, patients below age of 18 and patients with cancer. Main outcome measures were prevalence of comorbidities in gout patients, gout medications and adequate serum urate control (≤0.36 mmol/l). Multivariate logistic regression was used to study the relationship between serum urate level, comorbid conditions and lifestyle factors. Hypertension was the most common comorbid condition with 60.8 % of patients followed by obesity and dyslipidaemia. In terms of medication, 46.7 % of patients were on allopurinol, 12.8 % on indomethacin and 13.4 % on diuretics. Eighty-six percentage of patients had serum urate level (sUA) recorded in the previous year. Of these, 32.2 % had a serum urate level below or equal to 0.36 mmol/l. Moreover, 17.4 % of patients had lifestyle advice documented in chart. Male gender was the most influential factor in having poor uric acid control ( p < 0.01), followed by not being on allopurinol ( p < 0.01) and patients older than 50 years ( p = 0.02). Management of gout in this study sample was not entirely concordant with guidelines. The study also suggests a need for possible tighter monitoring and allopurinol dosing regime in older, male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many quantitative studies globally have identified suboptimal management of gout.Purpose: To explore management of gout from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs), while identifying the barriers and possible strategies for improvement.Study Design: This descriptive qualitative study used semistructured interviews with 14 purposely selected GPs from four separate general practices in Townsville. The questions focused on management strategies, practicalities in managing gout, barriers and possible strategies to improve management.Results: Indomethacin was commonly reported to be used in acute gout with progression to allopurinol after the acute stage had subsided. There were differences with the initial allopurinol dose and follow-up periods. GPs reported lack of patient adherence to allopurinol and lifestyle modifications, mainly due to lack of education. Most suggested the need for allied health input and improved patient education.Conclusions: Tailor-made plan in terms of education and lifestyle advice could help adherence to gout management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to summarise published evidence that assessed the management of gout in regard to the following: prescription of urate lowering therapy (ULT), monitoring of serum urate levels (sUA) and allopurinol dosing in patients with renal impairment, lifestyle advice and acute management of gout. Studies investigating the management of gout in general practice (GP) were identified by searching PubMed and Scopus databases. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to be focused on the GP setting alone. Studies were also excluded if they examined diagnosis without exploring management of gout. Editorials and reviews were excluded. A total of nine studies were identified. Eight studies explored the proportion of gout patients currently on ULT. Six out of the eight studies revealed that ULT was prescribed in less than 50 % of gout patients. Four studies considered the monitoring of sUA levels in gout patients. The results were generally similar throughout studies indicating sub-optimal management. Only two studies examined the monitoring of sUA levels specifically in patients who were prescribed ULT. The two studies showed 28 and 38 % of patients on ULT had their sUA levels monitored. Two studies examined the dosing of allopurinol in renally impaired patients and revealed that 74-78 % of renally impaired patients had an appropriate allopurinol dose of less than 300 mg. This systematic review suggests that gout is sub-optimally managed in general practice. However, more studies with a larger sample size focusing on active patients are required to provide more definitive evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]