Supplying relevant information
Supplying relevant information
Patients are likely to benefit from receiving tailored information on gout, including the signs and symptoms, causes and progressive nature of the disease if it is not managed, risk factors, treatment options for exacerbations, and the long-term nature and benefits of ULT.
Signposting to other sources of information and support may also be helpful. These include the following:
Pharmacy teams may find the information published by NICE (and the documents it links to) helpful, as well as the Clinical Knowledge Summary.
Risk factors
The most important risk factor for developing gout is hyperuricaemia, which usually stems from impaired renal excretion of uric acid, although around 10 per cent of people with higher than usual uric acid levels do so due to over-production. In rare cases, gout may present in the absence of hyperuricaemia and vice versa. Other risk factors include:
- Concurrent disease, notably chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and osteoarthritis
- A diet that is high in alcohol, sugary drinks, meat and/or seafood
- Being overweight or obese
- Family history of hyperuricaemia or gout
- Some medicines (e.g. diuretics, ciclosporin and low dose aspirin).