title: Efficacy and safety of febuxostat in elderly female patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maintenance of low serum urate levels is important for the management of gout. Achieving the recommended serum urate levels of less than 6.0 mg/dL is difficult in elderly (65 years of age or older) patients with renal impairment. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol and febuxostat are used for this purpose. Although febuxostat had been shown to be efficacious in elderly patients, its safety and efficacy in elderly female patients with hyperuricemia remain unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of febuxostat in elderly female patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a retrospective cohort study. The study included elderly Japanese patients (65 years of age or older) who were treated with febuxostat at Fujita Health University Hospital from January 2012 to December 2013. The treatment goal was defined as achievement of serum urate levels of 6.0 mg/dL or lower within 16 weeks; this was the primary endpoint in the present study. Adverse events of febuxostat were defined as more than twofold increases in Common Terminology Criteria for adverse events scores from baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We evaluated 82 patients treated with febuxostat during the observation period and classified them into male (n=53) and female (n=29) groups. The mean time to achievement of the treatment goal was significantly shorter in the female group (53 days) than in the male group (71 days). There were no significant differences in adverse events between the 2 groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the efficacy of febuxostat in elderly female patients is superior to that in elderly male patients and that the safety is equivalent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan ; Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Sayo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hikosaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimabukuro
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Maho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuzawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagamatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D000069465:Febuxostat; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006073:Gout / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006074:Gout Suppressants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D033461:Hyperuricemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D006074:Gout Suppressants; D013844:Thiazoles; D000069465:Febuxostat
keywords: elderly female patients; febuxostat; hyperuricemia