Comparison of major societies’ gout guidelines
Guideline | 2020 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) [9] | 2016 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) [10] | 2016 American College of Physicians (ACP) [11] |
---|---|---|---|
Discordant recommendations | |||
ULT initiation (in patients with ≥ 2 flares/year) | Start ULT | Start ULT | Consider ULT |
Target SU level | Target < 6 mg/dL | Target < 6 mg/dL, or less | No specific target; treat to manage symptoms |
ULT titration | Titrate to target SU level | Titrate to target SU level | Titrate based on patient symptoms and side effects |
First-line ULT | Allopurinol (start at ≤ 100 mg/day and titrate up) | Allopurinol (start at ≤ 100 mg/day and titrate up) | Allopurinol or febuxostat |
Anti-inflammatory prophylaxis (during ULT initiation) | Low-dose colchicine, NSAIDs, or low-dose corticosteroids (3–6 months) | Low-dose colchicine or NSAIDs (6 months) | Low-dose colchicine or NSAIDs (> 8 weeks) |
Concordant recommendations | |||
Gout flare management | NSAIDs, colchicine, or corticosteroids | NSAIDs, colchicine, corticosteroids, or intra-articular steroids | NSAIDs, colchicine, or corticosteroids |
Patient education | Emphasize lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes and weight loss | Emphasize lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes and weight loss | Emphasize lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes and weight loss |
Lifestyle modifications | Recommend weight loss, reduced alcohol intake, and dietary changes | Recommend weight loss, reduced alcohol intake, and dietary changes | Recommend weight loss, reduced alcohol intake, and dietary changes |
NSAIDs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SU: serum urate; ULT: urate lowering therapy
ES: Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. EMH: Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. KGS: Conceptualization, Writing—review & editing, Supervision. All authors read and approved the submitted version.
EMH and ES declare that they have no conflicts of interest. KGS reports research funding from Amgen, Arthrosi, Inventis-Bio, LG-Chem, and Olatec and consulting with Amgen, Atom, Crystalys, LG-chem, Shanton, and SOBI.
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