Patients Prescribed Anakinra for Acute Gout Have Baseline Increased Burden of Hyperuricemia, Tophi, and Comorbidities, and Ultimate All-Cause Mortality

Abstract

Objective: The interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist anakinra is an effective, off-label option in acute gout flares, when conventional therapy options are narrowed. We performed a retrospective, randomized, case-controlled study to gain clinical insight on baseline factors for gout patients most likely to receive anakinra, and ultimate mortality of those who received anakinra. Methods: Of 1451 gout patients seen between January 2003 and January 2015 in a Veterans Affairs (VA) rheumatology group practice, under stringent managed care principles, 13 (100% male), who received anakinra at least once for flares, were compared with 1:4 age- and sex-matched gout controls. Each patient’s first rheumatology encounter was studied by factor analysis for variables associated with later anakinra. Results: At baseline, patients that received anakinra had higher urate burden (palpable tophi [10/13] vs controls [16/52], P =.003), serum urate ([10.6 mg/dL] vs controls [7.6 mg/dL], P