THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Allopurinol dose escalation is not associated with reductions in mortality risk among patients with gout, according to a study published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Brian W. Coburn, Ph.D., from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and colleagues assessed whether allopurinol dose escalation is associated with cause-specific mortality in patients with gout. The authors performed a 10-year observational, active-comparator study of U.S. veterans with gout who initiated treatment with allopurinol. The study included 6,428 dose escalators and 6,428 matched non-escalators.
The researchers found that there were 2,867 deaths during the observation period. There was an increase in all-cause mortality among dose escalators (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.17). Similar effect sizes were seen for incidence of cardiovascular-related deaths (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.21) and cancer-related deaths (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.27). At two years, 10 percent of dose escalators were receiving a final daily dose of >300 mg and 31 percent had achieved a serum urate goal of <6 mg/dL.
“A strategy of allopurinol dose escalation, which in current real-life practice is characterized by limited dose increases, is unlikely to improve the survival of patients with gout,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
