Disease modification in gout: a qualitative study of gout expert rheumatologists

The aim was to examine the views of health-care providers regarding disease modification in gout, with the potential to derive a provisional set of domains for disease modification in gout.

A qualitative nominal group study was performed with 20 gout experts (15 expert/expert panel members of the 2012 and/or 2020 ACR gout guidelines and/or 2015 ACR/EULAR gout classification criteria) about what constitutes disease modification in gout: 'What sorts of things do you think constitute a change in the course of disease in gout? (positive); what are all the ways in which gout as a disease can be modified?'

Decrease in gout flares was rated number one rank in all six nominal groups as indicative of disease modification in gout, followed by serum urate lowering, which was rated number one rank in one of the six nominal groups (tied score with flares in one nominal group). Other components of gout disease modification were to improve quality of life/productivity; restore function; reduce/eliminate pain; reduce tophi burden; and joint preservation or resolution of joint damage. Potential additional components that were not ranked in the top three votes within each nominal group were: decreasing health-care cost/utilization; reducing cardiovascular/renal morbidity/mortality; and stopping formation of urate crystals.

This qualitative study provides a provisional set of domains for disease modification in gout. Future studies for the development of thresholds for disease modification domains and wider consensus on this definition are needed.