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Veterans’ Urate-Lowering Therapy Monitoring Suboptimal
Ann Pharmacother; ePub 2016 Nov 22; Hughes, et al
Rates of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) monitoring at a major Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center were suboptimal for the treatment of gout, and improved adherence to guideline recommendations is needed, according to a recent study. Researchers conducted a single-center, multisite, retrospective chart review of US veterans receiving ULT for gout within the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2015. They found:
- A total of 601 patients met inclusion criteria for the study; after application of exclusion criteria, 505 were analyzed.
- Of these, 295 patients (58%) did not have a serum urate (SUA) drawn within 6 months, and 162 patients (32%) reached the end of the study period without SUA measured.
- Of 226 patients with SUA above goal on initial check, 64 (28%) had timely dose adjustment, whereas 143 patients (63%) had no adjustment.
- A total of 161 patients (32%) had a SUA at goal within the study period.
Hughes JC, Wallace JL, Bryant CL, Salvig BE, Fourakre TN, Stone WJ. Monitoring of urate-lowering therapy among US veterans following the 2012 American College of Rheumatology Guidelines for Management of Gout. [Published online ahead of print November 22, 2016]. Ann Pharmacother. doi:10.1177/1060028016679848.