Emergency gout admission increase is ‘call to arms’

Pharmacist-led gout clinics

Another approach to try to avoid emergency hospital visits could be better management and perhaps setting up specialist gout clinics. Such clinics have already been piloted, and rheumatology pharmacist Jane Whiteman shared her experience of setting up a monthly, pharmacist-led gout clinic in a separate presentation.

^{Sara Freeman/MDedge News}

Dr. Jane Whiteman

Dr. Whiteman, who works at Royal Victoria Hospital, part of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in Ireland, presented data on 52 patients who were seen at the clinic between June 2015 and May 2017. The total number of patient visits was 87, with an average of 1.7 visits per patient.

Of 38 patients who were discharged from the clinic, 29 (76%) had met target levels of serum uric acid, which guidelines from the British Society for Rheumatology set at less than 0.3 mmol/L (5 mg/dL) and those from the European League of Rheumatism set at less than 0.36 mmol/L (6 mg/dL).