Journal List > J Rheum Dis > v.18(1) > 1063924

Jo, Park, and Lee: The Effect of Hypouricemic Treatment on the Renal Function in Patients with Gout

Abstract

Objective

Hyperuricemia is known as a risk factor that causes and worsens kidney diseases through a variety of mechanisms. Recent animal studies reported that the cor-rection of hyperuricemia improved the renal function, but there have been few human studies. This study examined whether a hypouricemic treatment affects the renal function in Korean patients with gout.

Methods

Two hundred sixty-seven gout patients who were prescribed uric acid lowering agents for more than 1 year were enrolled at the Division of Rheumatology in the National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital and Yonsei University Severance Hospital from January 2005 to January 2010. The following were examined: the levels of serum uric acid and serum creatinine, the amount of 24-hour urine uric acid, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and abdominal ultrasound findings at baseline and followup.

Results

Mean age of the study subjects was 54.4±13.9 years. Two hundred forty-seven patients were male and 20 patients were female. The mean treatment duration was 35.0±19.5 months. Among the 267 patients, 219 and 19 patients received monotherapy with allopurinol and benzbromarone respectively, and 29 patients received combination therapy with allopurinol and benzbromarone. After the treatment with uric acid lowering agents, the serum uric acid and creatinine levels decreased significantly (8.05±1.96 mg/dL vs 6.16±1.46 mg/dL, p<0.001, 1.25±0.46 mg/dL vs 1.18±0.42 mg/dL, p=0.001, respectively) and the GFR increased significantly (74.4±27.0 mL/min/1.73 m3 vs 80.2±31.6 mL/min/1.73 m3, p<0.001).

Conclusion

Treatment with hypouricemic agents reduced the levels of serum uric acid and improved the renal function. These results suggest that a hypouricemic treatment might improve the kidney function in gout patients.

References

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Figure 1.
The changes in the serum uric acid levels were correlated with the changes in the serum creatinine levels after the treatment with hypouricemic agents (r=0.18, p=0.003).
jrd-18-26f1.tif
Figure 2.
The changes of serum uric acid levels were correlated with the changes in the creatinine clearance levels after the treatment with hypouricemic agents (r=−0.25, p<0.001).
jrd-18-26f2.tif
Table 1.
Characteristics of the gout patients
  N=267
Age at initiation of treatment (yrs) 54.4±13.9
Sex (M, %) 247 (92.5)
BMI (kg/m2) 24.8±3.5
Hypertension (%) 115 (43.2)
Diabetes mellitus (%) 13 (4.9)
Hyperlipidemia (%) 77 (28.8)
Duration of treatment (months) 35.0±19.5
Medication (%)
  Allopurinol 219 (82)
  Benzbromarone 19 (7.1)
  Allopurinol plus benzbromarone 29 (10.9)
  NSAIDs 104 (38.9)

M: male, BMI: body mass index, NSAIDs: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

Data is reported as the mean±SD unless specified otherwise.

Table 2.
Changes in the serum uric acid, serum creatinine and creatinine clearance in 267 gout patients after treatment with the hypouricemic agents (N, (%))
  Serum UA Serum Cr CCr
Improved 223 (83.5) 174 (65.2) 164 (61.4)
Deteriorated 42 (15.7) 62 (23.2) 88 (33)
Not changed 2 (0.7) 31 (11.6) 15 (5.6)

UA: uric acid, Cr: creatinine, CCr: creatinine clearance

Table 3.
Creatinine clearance, serum uric acid, and serum creatinine in 267 gout patients before and after treatment with the hypouricemic agents
  Before treatment After treatment p-value
CCr (mL/min/1.73 m3) 74.41±27.02 80.18±31.55 <0.001
Serum UA (mg/dL) 8.05±1.96 6.16±1.46 <0.001
Serum Cr (mg/dL) 1.25±0.46 1.18±0.42 0.001

CCr: creatinine clearance, UA: uric acid, Cr: creatinine

Table 4.
Significance of the random effects in mixed model analysis
  Variance-covariance estimates (SE) of random effects
Serum Cr p CCr p
Serum UA 0.04 (0.01) <0.001 −3.1 (0.68) <0.001

The analysis was performed adjusting for confounding variables (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, treatment with NSAIDs), SE: standard error, UA: uric acid, Cr: creatinine, CCr: creatinine clearance

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