Gout is currently the most frequent cause of inflammatory arthritis worldwide and is responsible for poor health-related quality of life and loss of work productivity. It is caused by high levels of serum urate, leading to the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joints and soft tissues. This condition is associated with acute flares and, if untreated or refractory, chronic and potentially destructive arthritis and tophi formation. Pegloticase is a recombinant, pegylated uricase used in the treatment of gout patients who fail conventional urate-lowering therapy. In this review, we discuss the impact of pegloticase on patient outcomes in refractory gout. We analyze different parameters, such as plasma uric acid concentration, frequency of flares, tophi reduction, pain, function, quality of life, and safety.
Keywords: gout; patient outcomes; pegloticase; urate-lowering therapy.