EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER:
Allopurinol and febuxostat reduce the frequency of gout attacks equally after 8 weeks of treatment (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, multiple randomized control trials [RCTs] with limitations).
Intravenous pegloticase decreases serum uric acid and gout attacks and improves quality of life (QOL) (SOR: A, 2 RCTs).
Colchicine reduces gout attacks when combined with probenecid or allopurinol at the start of urate-lowering therapy (SOR: B, 1 high-quality and 1 low-quality RCT).
EVIDENCE SUMMARY
A 28-week RCT compared the effects of placebo, allopurinol (300 mg/d), and febuxostat (80 mg, 120 mg, and 240 mg) on serum uric acid levels (sUA) and gout attacks in 1067 patients with gout and hyperuricemia (94% male, 78% white, 18 to 85 years of age with mean age ranging from 51 to 54 years ± 12 years in each group).1 Patients also received prophylaxis with either colchicine or naproxen during the first 8 weeks of the study.
During Weeks 1 through 8, investigators found no statistically significant differences in the percentage of patients requiring treatment for gout attacks between the febuxostat 80 mg, allopurinol, and placebo groups (28%, 23%, and 20%, respectively). During Weeks 8 through 28, no statistically significant differences in gout attack rates occurred between the allopurinol and febuxostat groups, although the study didn’t report specific attack rates for this period.
Both allopurinol and all doses of febuxostat reduced sUA to <6 mg/dL more effectively than placebo; more patients treated with febuxostat than allopurinol achieved a uric acid level of less than <6 mg/dL.
Another RCT of 762 mostly white, male patients (mean age 52 years) with gout and sUA >8 mg/dL—35% of whom had renal impairment, defined as creatinine clearance <80 mL/min/1.73m2—also concluded that febuxostat and allopurinol are equally effective in reducing gout attacks (incidence of gout flares during Weeks 9 to 52 was 64% with both febuxostat 80 mg and allopurinol 300 mg).2 The percentage of patients with sUA <6 mg/dL at the last 3 monthly visits was 53% in the febuxostat 80 mg group compared with 21% in the allopurinol 300 mg group (P<.001; number needed to treat [NNT]=4]).
One significant limitation of both RCTs was the fixed dose of allopurinol (300 mg/d). US Food and Drug Administration-approved dosing for allopurinol allows for titration to a maximum of 800 mg/d to achieve serum uric acid <6 mg/dL.