Objective To provide guidance for the management of gout, including indications for and optimal use of urate‐lowering therapy (ULT), treatment of gout flares, and lifestyle and other medication recommendations. Methods Fifty‐seven population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes questions were developed, followed by a systematic literature review, including network meta‐analyses with ratings of the available evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, and patient input. A group consensus process was used to compose the final recommendations and grade their strength as strong or conditional. Results Forty‐two recommendations (including 16 strong recommendations) were generated. Strong recommendations included initiation of ULT for all patients with tophaceous gout, radiographic damage due to gout, or frequent gout flares; allopurinol as the preferred first‐line ULT, including for those with moderate‐to‐severe chronic kidney disease (CKD; stage >3); using a low starting dose of allopurinol (≤100 mg/day, and lower in CKD) or febuxostat (<40 mg/day); and a treat‐to‐target management strategy with ULT dose titration guided by serial serum urate (SU) measurements, with an SU target of <6 mg/dl. When initiating ULT, concomitant antiinflammatory prophylaxis therapy for a duration of at least 3–6 months was strongly recommended. For management of gout flares, colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or glucocorticoids (oral, intraarticular, or intramuscular) were strongly recommended. Conclusion Using GRADE methodology and informed by a consensus process based on evidence from the current literature and patient preferences, this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making decisions on the management of gout.

Objective To provide guidance for the management of gout, including indications for and optimal use of urate‐lowering therapy (ULT), treatment of gout flares, and lifestyle and other medication recommendations. Methods Fifty‐seven population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes questions were developed, followed by a systematic literature review, including network meta‐analyses with ratings of the available evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, and patient input. A group consensus process was used to compose the final recommendations and grade their strength as strong or conditional. Results Forty‐two recommendations (including 16 strong recommendations) were generated. Strong recommendations included initiation of ULT for all patients with tophaceous gout, radiographic damage due to gout, or frequent gout flares; allopurinol as the preferred first‐line ULT, including for those with moderate‐to‐severe chronic kidney disease (CKD; stage >3); using a low starting dose of allopurinol (≤100 mg/day, and lower in CKD) or febuxostat (<40 mg/day); and a treat‐to‐target management strategy with ULT dose titration guided by serial serum urate (SU) measurements, with an SU target of <6 mg/dl. When initiating ULT, concomitant antiinflammatory prophylaxis therapy for a duration of at least 3–6 months was strongly recommended. For management of gout flares, colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or glucocorticoids (oral, intraarticular, or intramuscular) were strongly recommended. Conclusion Using GRADE methodology and informed by a consensus process based on evidence from the current literature and patient preferences, this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making decisions on the management of gout.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. This study is the first to report the association of hydroxychloroquine (an antirheumatic medication that has been associated with decreased risk of diabetes, a less atherogenic lipid profile, and antithrombotic properties) with CVD in RA.Methods and ResultsA retrospective incident RA cohort from January 1, 2001, to October 31, 2013, excluding patients with CVD prior to RA diagnosis, was constructed. Patients were categorized as hydroxychloroquine users versus nonusers and were allowed to contribute time to either group according to hydroxychloroquine exposure. The primary outcome was adjudicated incident CVD defined as a composite of coronary artery disease, stroke, transient ischemic attack, sudden cardiac death, and peripheral artery disease with arterial revascularization procedure. The secondary outcome was a composite of incident coronary artery disease, stroke, and transient ischemic attack. Cox time‐varying regression models were used to estimate the association between hydroxychloroquine exposure and development of CVD, after adjusting for propensity score and relevant confounders, including demographics, CVD‐related comorbidities, RA severity, and activity indicators and medications. We included 1266 RA patients, 547 hydroxychloroquine users, and 719 nonusers. During the observation period, 102 CVD events occurred, 3 in hydroxychloroquine users and 99 in nonusers. The fully adjusted Cox model showed a hazard ratio of 0.28 (95% CI 0.12–0.63, P=0.002) for incident CVD and 0.30 (95% CI 0.13–0.68, P=0.004) for incident composite coronary artery disease, stroke, and transient ischemic attack for hydroxychloroquine users versus nonusers, respectively.ConclusionIn this hypothesis‐generating study, hydroxychloroquine use was associated with a 72% decrease in the risk of incident CVD in RA patients. If these preliminary results are confirmed in larger studies, our findings may be used as a rationale for a randomized study of hydroxychloroquine use for primary prevention of CVD in RA or nonrheumatic high‐risk patients.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

PURPOSE. To estimate the normal value of macular pigment optical density (MPOD) in an adult south Indian sample. METHODS. Three hundred eyes of 161 healthy volunteers (30 men and 30 women in each of the age groups of 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and ≥60 years) underwent MPOD measurement with a macular densitometer. Thirty-two eyes were also checked for intersession variability. RESULTS. The mean MPODs in the Indian sample were 0.64 ± 0.23 log unit at 0.25° eccentricity, 0.50 ± 0.21 log unit at 0.5°, 0.37 ± 0.19 log unit at 1.00°, and 0.21 ± 0.16 log unit at 1.75°. At all the foveal eccentricities, the MPOD showed an increase from 20 to 29 to 30 to 39 years of age and thereby showed a decrease with age. The men aged 40 to 49 years had significantly higher MPOD than did the women (0.75 vs. 0.62 log unit, P = 0.039), and the women aged 50 to 59 years had higher MPOD than did the men (0.71 vs. 0.57 log unit, P = 0.019). There was no significant intersession or interocular variation. CONCLUSIONS. This study establishes the MPOD normogram in an adult Indian sample.

No abstract