All About Gout for Primary Care

Gout, “the king of diseases and the disease of kings,” remains the most common inflammatory arthropathy.¹ A disorder of purine metabolism, gout has more than doubled in prevalence over the past 2 decades.² The majority of patients who have gout will receive most to all of their gout care from their primary care provider.³

^{[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_crop","fid":"57618","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","id":"media_crop_7971727308062","media_crop_h":"0","media_crop_image_style":"-1","media_crop_instance":"7258","media_crop_rotate":"0","media_crop_scale_h":"0","media_crop_scale_w":"0","media_crop_w":"0","media_crop_x":"0","media_crop_y":"0","style":"width: 235px; height: 235px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;","title":" ","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]}In upcoming articles in this Special Report, we will review the current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of gout-everything primary care physicians need to know.

Topics will include:

• The basic components of gout diagnosis

• Management of acute gout attacks

• Pharmacological interventions for acute gout

• Management of chronic gout

• Pharmacological interventions for chronic gout

• Prevention of future gout attacks

• Referral to rheumatology

First up: a gout multiple-choice pre-test aimed at primary care physicians. The questions will be answered in upcoming segments of this Special Report and you will see them again, as a post-test, at the conclusion of the series.

Continue to Gout Special Report Pre-test

PRE-TEST

Take our short pre-test to see what you know about gout and the current guidelines for disease diagnosis and treatment for acute and chronic disease.

Question 1:

Answer and Question #2 on Next Page »

The correct answer is C. Crystal examination

Question 2.

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The correct answer is A. Chronic hyperuricemia

Question 3.

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The correct answer is E. A and C but not B (Maximum inflammation within 12 to 24 hours is a hallmark.)

Question 4.

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The correct answer is C. 30%

Question 5.

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The correct answer is B. Useful for chronic gout but not for acute gout

Question 6.

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The correct answer is D. Allopurinol

Question 7.

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The correct answer is C. 1.2 mg within 12 hours of onset, 0.6 mg 1 hour later

Question 8.

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The correct answer is D. A starting dose of 40 to 60 mg/d with a taper over 10 to 14 days

Question 9.

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The correct answer is C. < 6 mg/dL

Question 10.

Answer on Next Page »

The correct answer is B. Allopurinol

The next installment in this Special Report about gout in primary care: Diagnosis.

References:

1. Choi H. Epidemiology of crystal arthropathy. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2006;32:255-273, v.

2. Lawrence RC, Felson DT, Helmick CG, et al. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States., part II. Arthritis Rheum. 2008;58:26-35.

3. Jawad AS. Teaching rheumatology in primary care. Ann Rheum Dis. 2000;59:1000-1001.