As per recent research, it does not seem that allopurinol for gout increases the possibility of death among gouty arthritis patients with CDK (chronic kidney failure). The discovery follows an analysis of health records in the UK for two decades. It is likely to stop people from worrying about a popular medication that gouty arthritis patients and people with CDK have consumed to control harmfully high levels of uric acid.
One of the study authors, Yuqing Zhang, regards allopurinol as the most extensively consumed urate-lowering treatment. As for Zhang, the issue is that as per recent studies, allopurinol was attributed to a twofold more possibility of death in renal disease patients without gouty arthritis.
In the latest report featured in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, however, Jie Wei stated that the investigators discovered that allopurinol’s administration was not attributed to a higher rate of mortality than its non-use in gout patients and people with moderate-to-serious kidney disease.
According to the researchers, gout is still the most prevalent form of arthritis that comes with inflammation. A high level of uric acid is a characteristic of gout. If the levels of the acidic substance are left uncontrolled, those would be related to the quick triggering of joint pain, which would often be intense and debilitating.
The Food and Drug Administration first approved allopurinol five decades ago. It is usually prescribed as an effective and affordable way of controlling the levels of the acid and preventing gout attacks.
As per those study authors, it is also possible to prescribe allopurinol for chronic kidney failure patients to reduce the speed of disease progression. Besides, many gouty arthritis patients who consume allopurinol daily, experience chronic kidney failure too.
Still, the studies featured in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine set alarm bells ringing. The studies did not find any piece of evidence that the gout treatment option aids in preserving kidney function for kidney patients without gouty arthritis. Besides, investigations unexpectedly discovered what seemed like a case of the possibility of dying getting doubled among kidney disease patients who consumed the drug.
To check whether there might be a comparable risk among gouty arthritis patients with kidney disease, Zhang and his team analyzed digital health records of almost 5,300 UK patients aged 40 to 89 years. Everyone had moderate-to-serious kidney disease and gouty arthritis.
