Ultrasound shows rapid reduction of crystal depositions during a treat-to-target approach in gout patients: 12-month results from the NOR-Gout study

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

  • Hilde Berner Hammer
  • Lars Karoliussen
  • Terslev, Lene
  • Espen A. Haavardsholm
  • Tore K. Kvien
  • Till Uhlig

Objectives As ultrasound is sensitive for detecting crystal depositions in patients with gout, our objectives were to explore the main locations for depositions and the extent of dissolution of depositions during a treat-to-target approach with urate lowering treatment (ULT) in patients with gout. Methods Patients with a recent flare of gout were consecutively included in this single-centre study and managed by a treat-to-target approach with ULT. All patients were assessed at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months including bilateral ultrasound examinations of joints/tendons/entheses of hands, elbows, knees, ankles and feet. A new semiquantitative scoring system of 0-3 of elementary lesions (double contour (DC), tophi and aggregates) was applied to quantify the amount of depositions during the follow-up. Results 209 of the patients were evaluated with ultrasound at baseline (mean (SD) age 56.4 (13.8) years and disease duration 7.9 (7.7) years, 95.2% men). The serum urate levels decreased from baseline to 12 months (mean (SD) 500 (77) to 312 (49) μmol/L) (p<0.001)). The first metatarsophalangeal joint was the most frequent location for all the elementary lesions and erosions were associated with higher levels of crystal depositions. From baseline to 12 months, mean sum scores decreased for DC (4.3 to 1.3), tophi (6.5 to 3.8) and aggregates (9.3 to 6.7) (p<0.001 for all), with DC being most sensitive to change. Conclusions The ultrasound scoring system for crystal depositions was sensitive to change and showed that a treat-to-target approach with ULT resulted in significant reductions of all the depositions, most extensively for DC.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Vol/bind79
Udgave nummer11
Sider (fra-til)1500-1505
Antal sider6
ISSN0003-4967
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2020

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
Competing interests HBH reports personal fees from AbbVie, Lilly and Novartis, outside the submitted work. LT reports personal fees from Novartis, Roche, BMS and Pfizer outside the submitted work. EAH reports personal fees from Pfizer, UCB, Eli Lilly, Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie and Gilead outside the submitted work. TKK reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, MSD, UCB, Hospira/Pfizer, Eli-Lilly, grants from BMS, personal fees from Roche, Hikma, Orion, Sanofi, Celltrion, Sandoz, Biogen, Amgen, Egis, Ewopharma and Mylan, outside the submitted work. TU reports personal fees from Grünenthal and Novartis, outside the submitted work.

Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020.

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