Evaluation of Gout Diagnosis and Management in Primary Health Care Centers

Background: Gouty arthritis is a type of metabolic disorder that is associated with joint inflammation as a result of accumulation of monosodium urate in the synovial fluid. It’s considered as one of the commonest presentations in primary care centers, in which a patient’s present complaining of rapid pain development, redness and swelling of the effected joint. Objective: In our review, we focused upon discussing the clinical presentation of gouty arthritis, and recent updates in diagnosis and management in primary health care center. Methodology: A comprehensive search was done using biomedical databases; Medline, and PubMed, for studies concerned with assessment of Gouty Arthritis. Keywords used in our search through the databases were as; “Gout arthritis evaluation”, “Diagnosis”, “Management”, and “Primary health care center”. Conclusion: Acute gouty arthritis attacks occur as a result of accumulation of monosodium urate crystal deposits into the joint space which associated with inflammatory reaction development. The condition can cause severe pain at the start of the attacks, later on as the condition progress a patients may develop deformity in the effected joint and functional impairment. Primary health care physicians should have a full knowledge regarding gouty arthritis diagnosis, evaluation, and management options. Gout management aims to reduce serum urate level below 6mg/dL, to avoid/ prevent formation of new crystals and promote the dissolution of existing crystals. In general gout management can be difficult as a result of patient’s incompliance, poor medical care provided by the health care system, and the presence of comorbidities. A physician should inform the patients about their condition, and the importance of patient’s compliance with management plan to prevent attacks development.