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Red blood cell distribution width may be useful marker of CKD in patients with gout flares

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Measuring the red blood cell distribution width in patients with gout during a flare may indicate chronic kidney disease, according to researchers at the Seoul National University Hospital.

The records from 236 patients who visited the RD with acute gout attacks between March 2003 and April 2014 were retrospectively studied. The mean age of patients was 49.38 years and 92.3% were men.

Patients were divided into three groups according to tertile measurements of red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square tests were used to analyze each group for any clinically relevant differences. Correlation between variables was evaluated using Pearson’s correlation approach, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify potentially significant influences.

Patients in the highest RDW tertile tended to be older, had lower levels of albumin and higher levels of hemoglobin, more recurrent gout flares and impaired renal function.

A “modest” negative correlation was seen with albumin and RDW and a weak, but a significant, positive correlation was revealed with creatinine levels and age. Serum uric acid and acute phase reactants were not associated with RDW. An increase in RDW independently correlated with the recurrence of gout flares and chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to the results of multiple linear regression analysis.

“In [an] acute gout attack, RDW, an easy and quick measurable index, may represent renal dysfunction rather than inflammatory burden or uric acid level, and physicians who treat acute gouty arthritis with high RDW should pay attention to the recurrence of gout attack and treatment,” the researchers concluded. – by Shirley Pulawski

Reference:

Chung SW, et al. Paper #AB0928. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. June 10-13, 2015; Rome.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.