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Is Checking Uric Acid Levels While Treating Gout Necessary?
I recently went to the ER for a gout attack lasting more than a month. I wanted to make sure I wasn t clotting, had an infection or any issues with my kidneys. I called back a couple of days later to get all lab reports and was told they never checked my uric acid levels. Why wouldn t they check my levels? Perhaps my levels were normal and something else could be going on but how would they know without checking the levels?
Tue, 18 Aug 2020
Hello,
You had an episode of gout which lasted more than a month. If I were treating such a patient in my clinic, I would first like to known the onset and duration of the disease, age of the patient, what medication he / she was taking and when was the last time the uric acid levels were checked.
This information is vital to formulate the next step in treatment. To answer your question specifically, I advise my patients to check serum uric acid levels every month only if the patient had more than one joint involvement or gout not responding to therapy. For general follow-up I advise once in 3-6 months depending on the case.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Tejas, General & Family Physician
You had an episode of gout which lasted more than a month. If I were treating such a patient in my clinic, I would first like to known the onset and duration of the disease, age of the patient, what medication he / she was taking and when was the last time the uric acid levels were checked.
This information is vital to formulate the next step in treatment. To answer your question specifically, I advise my patients to check serum uric acid levels every month only if the patient had more than one joint involvement or gout not responding to therapy. For general follow-up I advise once in 3-6 months depending on the case.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Tejas, General & Family Physician
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