Table 3. Management of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) during an acute gouty attack and anti-inflammatory prophylaxis of gout attacks.
| Questions and respective options | Proportion (95% CI) |
|---|---|
| During an acute gouty attack in a patient using ULT, you: | [N = 309] |
| Increase the ULT dose | 0.3 (0.0–1.0) |
| Keep the ULT dose 1 | 67.0 (61.7–72.3) |
| Reduce the ULT dose | 1.3 (0.0–2.6) |
| Withdraw the ULT | 31.4 (26.2–36.6) |
| How often do you give prophylactic treatment to prevent acute gouty attacks when initiating ULT? | [N = 302] |
| Always 1 | 64.9 (59.5–70.3) |
| Almost always 1 | 27.5 (22.4–32.5) |
| Sometimes | 3.6 (1.5–5.8) |
| Almost never | 1.7 (0.2–3.1) |
| Never 2 | 2.3 (0.6–4.0) |
| How long do you keep prophylaxis for patients WITHOUT tophi? | [N = 295] |
| <1 month | 16.9 (12.6–21.3) |
| 1–6 months | 42.4 (36.7–48.0) |
| 7–12 months | 10.8 (7.3–14.4) |
| Until they reach the target serum uric acid level | 20.0 (15.4–24.6) |
| Indefinitely | 9.8 (6.4–13.2) |
| How long do you keep prophylaxis for patients WITH tophi? | [N = 295] |
| <1 month | 5.1 (2.6–7.6) |
| 1–6 months | 23.4 (18.5–28.2) |
| 7–12 months | 15.6 (11.4–19.8) |
| Until they reach the target serum uric acid level | 13.9 (9.9–17.9) |
| Until resolution of tophi | 7.5 (4.4–10.5) |
| Indefinitely | 34.6 (29.1–40.0) |
| Do you prefer colchicine or NSAID for chronic prophylaxis of acute gouty attacks? | [N = 295] |
| Colchicine | 97.6 (95.9–99.4) |
| NSAID | 2.4 (0.6–4.1) |
1Answers in agreement with the 2012 ACR gout guidelines
2participants who answered not to prescribe anti-inflammatory prophylaxis when initiating ULT were excluded from the other questions concerning this topic.
CI: confidence interval; NSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.