1. It is unlikely that the hyperuricaemia associated with polycythaemia vera can be ascribed to a primary renal disorder. It is, however, possible that prolonged hyperuricaemia or perhaps some of the vascular complications of polycythaemia vera can cause impaired renal function in some patients, and that this then leads to an impaired urate clearance and in some cases to a rise in blood urea. The hyperuricaemia is most likely to arise from the underlying blood dyscrasia with its increased turnover of cells. The association between the haematological features of these cases and the serum uric acid levels are to be reviewed in a separate paper
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