Successful treatment of refractory gout using combined therapy consisting of febuxostat and allopurinol in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Gouty arthritis is a metabolic disorder associated with hyperuricemia. Despite the development of novel pharmacotherapies, some hyperuricemia patients are drug refractory and develop gout. A 74-year-old man with frequent gouty attacks and chronic renal failure presented with asymmetrical polyarthritis affecting multiple joints. The diagnosis of gout was confirmed based on the presence of monosodium urate crystals in the patient's right wrist. The administration of systemic corticosteroids relieved the joint inflammation and pain; however, the urate level increased to 28 mg/dL and the gout attacks recurred. Combined allopurinol, febuxostat, and benzbromarone therapy reduced the urate level to <6 mg/dL, and the attacks gradually declined. This is the first report of two xanthine oxidase inhibitors being used to treat refractory gout.