Gout update: from lab to the clinic and back

Reviews and opinion articles stressing the need for better reproducibility of crystal identification in synovial fluid continue to be published. The possibility of definitive diagnosis of gout by crystal identification during intercritical periods appears now established. The problems associated with the use of allopurinol have also received some attention, as well as the strategies of dealing with allopurinol hypersensitivity. Gout in transplanted patients is reviewed, with special attention to the difficulties related to its treatment; various therapeutic options for this group are reviewed, The use of benzbromarone to reduce uricemia appears to be especially appropriate for this group of patients, in whom allopurinol is problematic. Finally, the pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease, and the relation between urate crystals and inflammation are reviewed. Curr Opin Rheumatol 2000, 12:213-218 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.