title: The management of gout in different clinical specialties in Turkey: a patient-based survey.
abstract: Although gout is potentially curable, the management of this disease is often suboptimal. In this study, we investigated the treatment of gout in Turkey and also compared the management approaches to gout in different clinical specialties. Three hundred and nineteen consecutive patients (mean age 58.60 ± 12.8 years; 44 females, 275 males) were included in this multicenter study. A standardized form was generated to collect data about the patient's first admission to health care, the specialty of the doctor first diagnosed the gout, the treatment options for gout including attack management, patient referral, chronic treatment including medical treatment, and life style modifications. Forty patients were referred to another center without any treatment (12.8 %), and referral rate is most common among the primary care physicians (28.8 %). Colchicine was more commonly used for attack prophylaxis than allopurinol. Ninety-two patients had never been treated with allopurinol (28.8 %). Allopurinol prescription was less common among the primary care physicians and orthopedists, and highest among the rheumatologists. Recommendation of diet and life style modifications was less common among the primary care physicians and orthopedists, and highest among the rheumatologists. The rates of life style modification recommendation and long-term allopurinol prescription were 83.7 and 77.6 %, respectively, among the rheumatologists. Both acute and chronic management of gout is suboptimal in Turkey especially among the primary care physicians and orthopedists. Moreover, chronic treatment is even suboptimal among rheumatologists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. makifozturk@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mehmet Akif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Öztürk
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Rıdvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mercan
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kevser
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gök
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet Mesut
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Onat
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bünyamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kısacık
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gezmiş
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kimyon
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balkarlı
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Veli
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Çobankara
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Balcı
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: ÖmerNuri
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Pamuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Sütcü Imam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gözde
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yıldırım Çetin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sayarlıoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Soner
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Şenel
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Engin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Tezcan
authors.affiliation: Section of Rheumatology, Malatya Devlet Hastanesi, Malatya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Küçük
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Üreten
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Osman Gazi University, Tokat, Turkey.
authors.forename: Şafak
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Şahin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tufan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000493:Allopurinol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003078:Colchicine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006073:Gout / Q000628:therapy*; D006074:Gout Suppressants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000379:methods; D010343:Patient Admission; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D006074:Gout Suppressants; D014527:Uric Acid; D000493:Allopurinol; D003078:Colchicine
keywords: Allopurinol; Gout; Life style modifications; Management