Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A rheumatology study for primary care
Researchers are usually calling on docs to follow guidelines, but a study presented yesterday revealed that ignoring a certain guideline for gout therapy could actually improve results. The study experimented with increasing gout patients' doses of allopurinol over recommended levels. "The problem with the dosing guidelines is that many patients fail to reach target serum uric acid levels," explained study author Lisa Stamp. "We are effectively undertreating."
The study increased the drug dose to try to get patients to the target serum uric acid level of 6 mg/dL, in some cases exceeding recommendations by as much as 400 mg/day. A few of the patients (3 of 45) developed rashes at the higher doses, but 86% of the participants hit the target.
The findings are particularly important for primary care physicians, who may be following the guidelines more rigidly than are doctors who have more experience with the medication. "I think this is going to support what rheumatologists are doing anyway," said Dr. Stamp.
Labels: rheumatology
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
11:23 AM
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