Evaluating appropriate use of prophylactic colchicine for gout flare prevention.

Objective: American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism guidelines recommend colchicine to prevent gout flares in patients initiating and increasing uric acid–lowering therapy until serum uric acid is maintained at ≤6 mg/dl. We aimed to evaluate how well colchicine prescribing practices adhere to these guidelines and to examine factors associated with improved prescribing.

Methods: Electronic medical records were reviewed for 126 patients with active colchicine prescriptions for prophylaxis of gout flares.