RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Factors Influencing Allopurinol Initiation in Primary Care
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 557
OP 560
DO 10.1370/afm.2137
VO 15
IS 6
A1 Clarson, Lorna E.
A1 Hider, Samantha L.
A1 Belcher, John
A1 Roddy, Edward
A1 Mallen, Christian D.
YR 2017
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/15/6/557.abstract
AB Despite guidance on appropriate initiation, urate-lowering therapy is prescribed for only a minority of patients with gout. Electronic health records for 8,142 patients with gout were used to investigate the effect of age, sex, comorbidities, number of consultations, and meeting internationally agreed eligibility criteria on time to allopurinol initiation. Time to first prescription was modeled using multilevel Cox proportional hazards regression. Allopurinol initiation was positively associated with meeting eligibility criteria at diagnosis of gout, but negatively associated with becoming eligible after diagnosis. Managing gout as a chronic disease, with regular reviews to discuss allopurinol treatment, may reduce barriers to treatment.