Jasvinder A Singh1,2, N Lawrence Edwards3. 1. From the Medicine Service, Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL. 2. Department of Medicine at School of Medicine, and Division of Epidemiology at School of Public Health, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL. 3. Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess patient perceptions of gout management goals. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional Internet survey of people who visited the Gout and Uric Acid Education Society's website to assess patient/respondent perception of gout management goals. We used chi-square test for categorical or t-test for continuous variables. RESULTS: Among the 320 survey respondents with physician-diagnosed gout, mean age was 57 (SD, 13.4) years, 72% were male, 77% White; mean gout duration was 7.6 years (SD, 11), gout flares in the last year were 5.2 (SD, 6.1), and medical comorbidities were common, 2.7 (SD, 2.6). Two-thirds respondents each reported very severe or severe symptoms from gout and that gout ranked among the top two health conditions with a negative impact on quality of life. During a clinic visit, only one-third of respondents' physicians spent 50% of more of the time discussing gout treatment. Only 54% respondents were prescribed ULT by their healthcare provider. By patient preference, the best life-long gout treatment strategies were the lowering of the serum urate level and the control of gout symptoms (62%) followed by serum urate lowering (32%). Respondents considered the following as the most important things for making gout treatment satisfactory: (1) patient education; (2) effective physician-patient communication; (3) diet and lifestyle modification; (4) serum urate monitoring and target achievement; (5) pain management and flare prevention; and (6) medication management. CONCLUSIONS: Patient identification of gout symptom control and serum urate level monitoring as the most important treatment goals is informative for clinicians and guideline developers.
OBJECTIVE: To assess patient perceptions of gout management goals. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional Internet survey of people who visited the Gout and Uric Acid Education Society's website to assess patient/respondent perception of gout management goals. We used chi-square test for categorical or t-test for continuous variables. RESULTS: Among the 320 survey respondents with physician-diagnosed gout, mean age was 57 (SD, 13.4) years, 72% were male, 77% White; mean gout duration was 7.6 years (SD, 11), gout flares in the last year were 5.2 (SD, 6.1), and medical comorbidities were common, 2.7 (SD, 2.6). Two-thirds respondents each reported very severe or severe symptoms from gout and that gout ranked among the top two health conditions with a negative impact on quality of life. During a clinic visit, only one-third of respondents' physicians spent 50% of more of the time discussing gout treatment. Only 54% respondents were prescribed ULT by their healthcare provider. By patient preference, the best life-long gout treatment strategies were the lowering of the serum urate level and the control of gout symptoms (62%) followed by serum urate lowering (32%). Respondents considered the following as the most important things for making gout treatment satisfactory: (1) patient education; (2) effective physician-patient communication; (3) diet and lifestyle modification; (4) serum urate monitoring and target achievement; (5) pain management and flare prevention; and (6) medication management. CONCLUSIONS:Patient identification of gout symptom control and serum urate level monitoring as the most important treatment goals is informative for clinicians and guideline developers.