Only One-Third of Gout Flare Patients Follow Up After ED Visit, Study Finds
A historical cohort study conducted at an academic medical center has found that fewer than 40% of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) for gout flares follow up in outpatient care within 6 months. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, point to both modifiable and demographic factors that may influence continuity of care for gout management.
“Gout follow-up after an [ED] visit for gout flare may improve outcomes, which could be influenced by demographics and social determinants of health,” the study authors noted. “We aimed to determine the factors associated with outpatient gout follow-up within our health care system within 6 months following an ED visit for a gout flare.”
Researchers analyzed 159 patients who visited the ED or urgent care for a gout flare between September 2021 and August 2022. They examined whether these patients had a follow-up outpatient visit for gout within 6 months, and used multivariable logistic regression to identify predictors of follow-up.
Only 56 patients (35.2%) had a documented outpatient visit addressing gout in the 6 months following their ED visit. Several factors were positively associated with higher odds of follow-up:
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Marital status: Being married was associated with more than double the odds of follow-up (OR 2.66; 95% CI: 1.25–5.68; p=0.01)
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Fewer comorbidities: Patients without comorbid conditions were nearly 4 times as likely to follow up (OR 3.86; 95% CI: 1.01–14.71; p=0.048)
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Colchicine use: Prescription or administration of colchicine during the ED visit was also associated with greater likelihood of follow-up (OR 2.67; 95% CI: 1.18–6.02; p=0.02)
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Older age: Each 5-year increase in age was associated with a 44% increase in the odds of follow-up (OR 1.44; 95% CI: 1.15–1.82; p=0.002)
“Among a cohort of patients seeking urgent/emergent care for gout flare, only one-third followed up for gout in the outpatient setting,” the authors concluded. “Modifiable factors such as colchicine prescription use were associated with gout follow-up, which may represent areas to target in future studies focused on promoting improved outpatient follow-up for gout.”
Reference
Jackson LE, Lopez E, Saag KG, Begum R, Cutter G, Danila MI. Outpatient Gout Follow-up After an Emergency Department Visit for Gout Flares. J Clin Rheumatol. 2025 Sep 1;31(6):211-216. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000002231. Epub 2025 Mar 19. PMID: 40102013.
