How well do we recognise gout disease?

Abstract

Objective: The clinical burden of gouty arthritis has historically been well recognized; however, gout is often misdiagnosed and mismanaged. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnoses and treatments given to gout patients admitted to different specialties. Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with gout attacks and treated by a rheumatologist were included, while patients with other non-gout rheumatic diseases (connective tissue diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, calcium pyrophosphate disease, etc.) were excluded. The branches the patients applied to during the attack, the treatments and diagnoses they received drugs, the number of attacks they had, demographic data, comorbidities, and laboratory data were recorded retrospectively. Results: 424 gout patients were included. Patients were mostly male (70.7%). The mean age was 62.4± 12.4 years, and women were older than men (67.9±10 vs 62.4±12 years, p