Gout, Hyperuricemia and Crystal-Associated Disease Network (G-CAN) consensus statement regarding labels and definitions for disease elements in gout.

Roddy

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
The language currently used to describe gout lacks standardisation. The aim of this project was to develop a consensus statement on the labels and definitions used to describe the basic disease elements of gout.

METHODS: Experts in gout (n=130) were invited to participate in a Delphi exercise and face-to-face consensus meeting to reach consensus on the labelling and definitions for the basic disease elements of gout. Disease elements and labels in current use were derived from a content analysis of the contemporary medical literature, and the results of this analysis were used for item selection in the Delphi exercise and face-to-face consensus meeting.

RESULTS:
There were 51 respondents to the Delphi exercise and 30 attendees at the face-to-face meeting. Consensus agreement (=80%) was achieved for the labels of eight disease elements through the Delphi exercise; the remaining three labels reached consensus agreement through the face-to-face consensus meeting. The agreed labels were: monosodium urate crystals, urate, hyperuric(a)emia, tophus, subcutaneous tophus, gout flare, intercritical gout, chronic gouty arthritis, imaging evidence of monosodium urate crystal deposition, gouty bone erosion and podagra. The face-to-face meeting achieved consensus agreement for the definitions of all 11 elements and a recommendation that the label 'chronic gout' should not be used.

CONCLUSION:
Consensus agreement was achieved for the labels and definitions of 11 elements representing the fundamental components of gout aetiology, pathophysiology and clinical presentation. The Gout, Hyperuricemia and Crystal-Associated Disease Network (G-CAN) recommends the use of these labels when describing the basic disease elements of gout.

• Acceptance Date: May 22, 2018
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2019
• Journal: Arthritis Care and Research
• Print ISSN: 2151-464X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Pages: 427-434
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23607
• Keywords: gout, nomenclature, terminology, urate
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/acr.23607