Acute flares do not last long on febuxostat

In patients with gout, treatment with febuxostat does not appear to prolong the duration of acute flares, a study has shown.

A total of 140 patients with acute gout flares were randomized to receive febuxostat (40 mg/day; n=70) or placebo (n=70) within 72 hours of index event. All patients were given diclofenac (150 mg/day) for 7 days and then open-labelled on the 8th day.

From day 8 through 28, febuxostat 40 mg and diclofenac 75 mg were administered once daily in patients in remission. Those who did not achieve it continued to receive diclofenac at 150 mg/day until remission.

The primary outcome of mean days to resolution did not significantly differ between the treatment arms (5.98 days with placebo vs 6.50 days with febuxostat; p=0.578). The rate of resolution within 7 days was 84.38 percent versus 76.92 percent, respectively (p=0.284).

Likewise, joint pain, swelling, tenderness, and erythema scores at days 1, 3, 5, and 7 were similar in the treatment groups.

However, febuxostat use led to a significantly lower mean serum uric acid levels on day 7 (362.62 vs 507.54 μmol/l with placebo; p=0.000) and rate of recurrent gout flares from day 8 through 28 (6.56 percent vs 10.00 percent; p=0.492).

The present data suggest that the drug has the potential increase patient compliance to treatment.