Background/Purpose: In the absence of any available current evidence, our primary objective was to assess the goals of gout treatment from a patient perspective and secondary objective was to examine any differences by sex.

Methods: A convenience sample of consecutive patients with doctor-diagnosed gout seen at a community-based outpatient clinic were invited at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. All groups answered the key question: What should be the goals of gout treatment? Sex-stratified nominal groups were conducted until saturation was achieved. Responses were collected verbatim, discussed and rank-ordered by each participant.

Results: Thirty-six patients with doctor-diagnosed gout participated in 12 nominal groups, six male only, five female only and one group with both. Mean age was 61.9 years (SD, 12.3), mean gout duration was 13.3 years (SD, 12.5), 53% were men, 64% African-American, 42% retired, 47% currently married, 87% were using either allopurinol and/or febuxostat, and 40% had had no gout flares in the last 6 months. Nominal group participants brought up several ideas that mapped to 9 key concepts, which are briefly described in the section below (Table 1). The top five treatment goals accounted for 91% of all votes and included: (1) Prevent and better manage flare-ups and improve function (25%); (2) Eliminate flare-ups/disease remission (30%); (3) Diet and activity modification/Lifestyle change (13%); (4) Patient education and public awareness (12%); and (5) Medication management and minimization of side effects (11%). When examining the top-rated concern for each nominal group, the first two goals were nominated by four groups each, diet/activity modification and medication management by 1 group each, and patient education by 3 groups. There were no differences evident by sex in top-ranked treatment goal.

Conclusion: People with gout identified and rank-ordered treatment goals relevant to them. Providers of gout care need to be cognizant of these goals. Disease management concordant with these treatment goals might lead to a more satisfied, informed patient. Clinical trialists should consider inclusion of these outcomes in gout domains due to their relevance to patients with gout.