To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - ACR: Allopurinol, Benziodarone Treat Hyperuricemia In Renal-transplant Patients URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1E96A2.htm Doctor's Guide November 3, 2000
By Maria Bishop Special to DG News
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- November 3, 2000 -- It is necessary to lower urate levels in kidney-transplant patients with hyperuricemia; the question is, with little published literature on the subject, how does one choose the most effective therapy?
Spanish researchers at the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suggested that this population would respond well to treatment with either benziodarone or allopurinol.
The term "hyperuricemia" refers to an excess of urates (uric acid) in the blood. Hyperuricemia usually precedes the development of gout, and may lead to renal disease.
Fernando Perez-Ruiz, MD, of the rheumatology department, Hospital De Cruces, Barakaldo, Spain, led a team of researchers in a retrospective study of a cohort of 1,328 renal-transplant patients. The files were reviewed for 278 patients with long-lasting hyperuricemia who had received urate-lowering therapy for over 12 months.
Patients were treated with allopurinol (99 courses) or benziodarone (188 courses), mostly when azathioprine was already part of the therapy.
For the first year of urate-lowering therapy, data on renal function and uric acid were collected four times; after that, up to the four-year mark, data were collected twice annually. From year 5 and on, data were collected annually.
Most patients in this trial were middle-aged and were taking cyclosporin (97 percent) and diuretics (27 percent). The mean glomerular filtration (GF) rate was 60 ± 23 mL/min.
Results showed that benziodarone was slightly more effective in reducing serum levels than was allopurinol at years one, two and three. Results were -4.16 ± 1.88 versus -3.31 ± 1.59 at year one; -3.94 ± 1.67 versus -3.26 ± 1.43 at year two; and -3.73 ± 2.05 versus -3.28 ± 1.64 at year 3, respectively.
The researchers concluded that both drugs were efficacious in controlling hyperuricemia in renal-transplant patients, although benziodarone was more useful in those with low renal function. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.