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. 2015 Oct;67(10):2557-68.
doi: 10.1002/art.39254.

2015 Gout Classification Criteria: an American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism collaborative initiative

Tuhina Neogi  1 , Tim L Th A Jansen  2 , Nicola Dalbeth  3 , Jaap Fransen  4 , H Ralph Schumacher  5 , Dianne Berendsen  4 , Melanie Brown  6 , Hyon Choi  1 , N Lawrence Edwards  7 , Hein J E M Janssens  4 , Frédéric Lioté  8 , Raymond P Naden  9 , George Nuki  10 , Alexis Ogdie  5 , Fernando Perez-Ruiz  11 , Kenneth Saag  12 , Jasvinder A Singh  13 , John S Sundy  14 , Anne-Kathrin Tausche  15 , Janitzia Vazquez-Mellado  16 , Steven A Yarows  17 , William J Taylor  6
Affiliations

2015 Gout Classification Criteria: an American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism collaborative initiative

Tuhina Neogi et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Errata.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Arthritis Rheumatol. 2016 Feb;68(2):515. doi: 10.1002/art.39536. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2016. PMID: 26808828 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Objective: Existing criteria for the classification of gout have suboptimal sensitivity and/or specificity, and were developed at a time when advanced imaging was not available. The current effort was undertaken to develop new classification criteria for gout.

Methods: An international group of investigators, supported by the American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism, conducted a systematic review of the literature on advanced imaging of gout, a diagnostic study in which the presence of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals in synovial fluid or tophus was the gold standard, a ranking exercise of paper patient cases, and a multicriterion decision analysis exercise. These data formed the basis for developing the classification criteria, which were tested in an independent data set.

Results: The entry criterion for the new classification criteria requires the occurrence of at least 1 episode of peripheral joint or bursal swelling, pain, or tenderness. The presence of MSU crystals in a symptomatic joint/bursa (i.e., synovial fluid) or in a tophus is a sufficient criterion for classification of the subject as having gout, and does not require further scoring. The domains of the new classification criteria include clinical (pattern of joint/bursa involvement, characteristics and time course of symptomatic episodes), laboratory (serum urate, MSU-negative synovial fluid aspirate), and imaging (double-contour sign on ultrasound or urate on dual-energy computed tomography, radiographic gout-related erosion). The sensitivity and specificity of the criteria are high (92% and 89%, respectively).

Conclusion: The new classification criteria, developed using a data-driven and decision analytic approach, have excellent performance characteristics and incorporate current state-of-the-art evidence regarding gout.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study process. The major steps taken to develop the new American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria for classification of gout are outlined. SUGAR = Study for Updated Gout Classification Criteria.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Examples of tophus. The tophus is defined as a draining or chalk‐like subcutaneous nodule under transparent skin, often with overlying vascularity. Typical locations are the ear (A), the elbow (olecranon bursa) (B), and the finger pulps (C and D). Note the overlying vascularity in D.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Examples of imaging features included in the classification criteria. A, Double‐contour sign seen on ultrasonography. Left panel shows a longitudinal ultrasound image of the femoral articular cartilage; right panel shows a transverse ultrasound image of the femoral articular cartilage. Both images show hyperechoic enhancement over the surface of the hyaline cartilage (images kindly provided by Dr. Esperanza Naredo, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañon, Madrid, Spain). B, Urate deposition seen on dual‐energy computed tomography. Left panel shows urate deposition at the first and fifth metatarsophalangeal joints; right panel shows urate deposition within the Achilles tendon. C, Erosion, defined as a cortical break with sclerotic margin and overhanging edge, seen on conventional radiography of the first metatarsophalangeal joint.
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