• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Acute gouty arthritis

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Gouty arthritis - acute; Gout - acute

Treatment:

A prescription medicine called colchicine helps reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation associated with acute gout attacks. The medication decreases the inflammation caused by uric acid crystals within the joint. It does not decrease the uric acid levels in the bloodstream.

The pain often goes away within 12 hours of starting treatment, and is completely relieved in 48 hours. Daily use of colchicine or allopurinol helps prevent future attacks.

Your doctor may also recommend that you take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as soon as symptoms start to relieve pain and inflammation. Strong painkillers such as codeine may occasionally be prescribed.

Corticosteroids can also be very effective. Your doctor may inject the inflamed joint with steroids to relieve the pain.

Drinking more fluids helps prevents the formation of kidney stones .

Sometimes, a diet low in purines is prescribed. Organ meats, beer, wine, and certain types of fish contain high levels of purines.

Expectations (prognosis):

Proper treatment of acute attacks allows people to live a normal life. However, the acute form of the disease may progress to chronic gout.

Complications:

• Side effects of medications
• Chronic gouty arthritis
• Kidney stones
• Kidney dysfunction

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you have symptoms of acute gouty arthritis.

• Review Date: 4/26/2007
• Reviewed By: Steve Lee, DO, Rheumatology Fellow, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.