2025 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 55-62
In the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia, it is desirable to maintain the serum uric acid level at 6.0 mg/dL or lower. However, there are a number of patients unable to continue treatment due to interruption of visiting the clinic. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving 104 patients (100 men and 4 women) who had discontinued treatment at the clinic for more than a year but later returned, and then survey results for 76 (excluding 28 patients who continued treatment at other clinics) were analyzed. The main reasons given for treatment interruption were that it was difficult to visit due to changes in lifestyle or life events, such as being busy at work, job transfers, or relocation. Next, there were many discontinuing treatment because they believed that the disease had been cured due to the disappearance of gout attacks and improvement in test data. There were also a number of restrictions on going out due to the spread of COVID-19. The majority of reasons for returning to the clinic were due to a recurrence of gout attacks and re-elevation of the serum uric acid level during a health check. In cases where patients have been forced to interrupt treatment due to lifestyle changes such as work or relocation, it may be necessary to suggest online medical consultations and instruct them to continue treatment at their new address. It was also considered that continuous and specific guidance was necessary to help patients recognize their illness even when no noticeable symptoms such as gout attacks were present.
