TY - JOUR T1 - The Economic Value of Genetic Testing for Tolerance of Allopurinol in Gout JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 717 LP - 719 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.170200 VL - 44 IS - 6 AU - GEMMA ELIZABETH SHIELDS Y1 - 2017/06/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/44/6/717.abstract N2 - Gout affects around 0.08% of the population globally and is the most common cause of inflammatory arthritis in men1. Gout is associated with a considerable economic burden to healthcare systems; gout patients incur substantially greater direct healthcare costs compared to the healthy population2,3. The indirect costs to society, such as loss of productive capacity, are also high2,3. Notably, measures of disease activity including serum urate acid (SUA) levels, frequency of flares, and the presence of tophi have all been linked to higher costs2,3. Evidence demonstrates that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is lower in the gout population when compared with the healthy population, largely attributed to the painful flares and physical disability associated with the disease2,4. The global burden of gout is rising; disability-adjusted life-years increased from 76,000 in 1990 to 114,000 in 20101. The rising burden of gout has led to calls to improve the management of gout across healthcare systems1.Longer-term treatment of chronic gout aims to reduce and maintain target SUA levels, which in turn reduces symptoms and the risk of patients developing painful and debilitating tophi. Urate-lowering therapy (ULT) is indicated for patients with tophi who are experiencing acute attacks and/or with radiographic changes of gout5. ULT drugs either increase the rate of the removal of uric acid by the kidneys or block the production of uric acid5, … Address correspondence to G.E. Shields; E-mail: gemma.shields{at}manchester.ac.uk ER -