Educating Patients on What it Means to Have Gout

Healthcare Professionals Network—November 7, 2013

As a result of the knowledge gap about gout, patients need to be taught that just because an episode ends doesn’t mean they’re cured, according to Theodore Fields, MD, director, Rheumatology Faculty Practice Plan at Hospital for Special Surgery.

“It’s an ongoing disease,” he says. “The crystals are still in the joints, they can still get more episodes down the road.”

Even if the patient’s acute attack is treated, they can gradually get worse if the uric acid isn’t brought down.

This story originally appeared at hcplive.com.