Gout News

The 2018 Rheumatic Disease Report Card: Raising the Grade on Rheumatology Care in America released today by the American College of Rheumatology demonstrates that access to affordable rheumatology care varied considerably from state to state, with most states averaging a “C” grade.

MUNICH — A study evaluating the occurrence of CV, cerebrovascular and renal events in elderly patients with hyperuricemia showed that lowering serum uric acid levels with febuxostat had a greater renoprotective effect than conventional therapy with lifestyle modification.

We begin with a 24-year-old previously healthy female presenting with gradual worsening — over the last few months — migraine-like headaches accompanied by nausea but no vomiting. She was in a usual state of health when she started getting headaches, that were described as intermittent with a deep ache sensation. The headaches were unilateral and would switch from left to right and sometimes occur between the eyes. The patient described the severity as 8 out of 10. The headaches did not wake her from sleep, and she was unsure of what triggered them. She denied hearing loss, tinnitus, numbness or tingling of extremities, weakness, joint pain, joint swelling or rashes. She reported no new medications.

Patients with gout may be at an increased risk for erectile dysfunction, according to findings published in the Journal of Rheumatology.

Johns Hopkins Hospital has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals Survey as the top-ranked hospital in the country for rheumatology for the 2018 to 2019 year.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Although gout is well known for imitating several other conditions, clinicians should exercise caution to eliminate septic arthritis as a potential diagnosis, as delay in treatment could result in irreversible joint damage and even death, according to a presentation at the Rheumatology Nurses Society Annual Conference.

In a series of face-to-face interviews, just 55% of respondents with gout reported that they adhered to urate-lowering therapy, according to findings published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Patients who present with early-onset gout, prior to age 40 years, generally develop more severe joint involvement and earlier occurrence of metabolic disorders compared with those who present after age 40 years, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Obesity, hypertension and the use of diuretics each represent independent risk factors for incident gout, individually associated with a twofold increase in risk, according to findings published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Although coffee drinking has been previously associated with a decreased risk for gout, researchers found that genetic polymorphisms linked to higher risk of gout and lower coffee consumption predominantly influence gout directly rather than the effects mediated by coffee intake.