How to manage patients with gout.

OBJECTIVES

Recently, after almost 50 years of dormancy, new therapeutic agents for the management of gout have entered the market or are in clinical development. In this article, the current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of gout are reviewed.

METHODS

Key papers for inclusion were identified by a PubMed search, and articles were selected according to their relevance for the topic, according to the authors' judgment.

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSIONS

Although our therapeutic arsenal is strong, and effective gout management with urate lowering therapy improves many patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials, major gaps exist in patient understanding of disease and adherence to long-term therapy. Research is required to identify the optimal models of care for patients with gout. However, quality of care in gout can be enhanced through better gout-centered education. To properly manage gout, education of the gout patient is critical, since only the patient who understands their gout will stay with their medication long-term.