[Is diagnosis and therapy of gout a simple matter?]

In the first part of the paper the author deals with the problem of the diagnosis of acute gouty arthritis. The apparently easy diagnosis is made three times more frequently than corresponds to the actual position. Since 1977 Wallace's criteria are used. The focal point of the diagnosis is evidence of sodium urate crystals in the synovial fluid. Various methods of assessment are discussed. In the second part the author deals with treatment of acute gouty attacks. He mentions the advantages and disadvantages of treatment with colchicine, steroid and non-steroid antirheumatic drugs. In the conclusion he analyzes treatment with allopurinol and uricosurics.