Conditions: Gout
Keywords: gout allopurinol
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 35
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This is a double blind placebo controlled study to determine whether starting allopurinol during a treated acute gout attack will have any effect on the duration of the attack.

Detailed description:
Traditional teaching holds that starting allopurinol during an acute gout attack will prolong the attack. Recent expert opinion from the American College of Rheumatology Guidelines is that allopurinol may be started during an acute, treated gout attack. This study is designed to test the hypothesis that allopurinol does not prolong an acute, treated gout attack. Patients will either take allopurinol capsules or and identical capsule containing no allopurinol (placebo) over 28 days, starting within 72 hours of a gout attack that is being treated with other standard measures. During the study, neither the patient nor the examiner will know what pills are being taken. The time to resolution of the attack is the primary outcome measure. Pain level, serum uric acid level, and complications of therapy will also be monitored. A minimum of 32 patients completing the study are needed for a meaningful conclusion.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients in this arm receive allopurinol, 100 mg daily for 14 days and then 200 mg daily for 14 days arm 2: Patients in this arm receive one placebo (sugar) pill per day for 14 days then 2 placebo pills for 14 days.

Interventions: intervention 1: allopurinol intervention 2: Placebo (sugar pill)
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: None intervention 2: None

Protocol document: