Table 2.

Investigations to consider for patients with gout

Test	Comment
Serum urate concentration	Level may go down during an acute attack
Full blood count	To exclude myeloproliferative disorders; raised white cell count may indicate septic arthritis
Renal function	Hyperuricaemia can occur in renal failure; reduce dose of allopurinol
Fasting lipids, glucose, and thyroid function	Hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, and possibly hyperthyroidism are associated with gout13,15
Urinary urate excretion	Uricosurics are contraindicated in patients with high urinary excretion of urate. Some authorities advise measuring this if the serum urate concentration is >0.8 mmol/l because of risk of renal stone formation