The Management of Gout in Primary Care

Abstract

Gout is an inflammatory arthropathy secondary to the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in synovial fluid. There are four well-described stages of the condition: asymptomatic hyperuricemia, acute gout attack, intercritical stage and chronic tophaceous gout. Management of the condition is dependent on the individual patient and the stage of disease. The principles are to terminate the acute event, prevent recurrent attacks and disease progression.