Patients with acute gout spend longer time in the emergency department (ED) than the national median across all medical illnesses, according to a study led by Nadine Mbuyi, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The results of the study were shared during the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2020 Congress, held online this year due to COVID-19.
Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis, affecting 4% of the adult population in the United States. These patients are primarily managed in outpatient settings, including the ED.
“The aim of our study was to determine the length of time gout patients spent in the ED, because higher length of stay in the ED has been correlated with higher cost of care and poorer clinical outcomes for gout patients,” said Mbuyi, who is the first author on the study.
Through retrospective analysis, the research team found that patients with acute gout spent more time in the ED than the national median of 120-150 minutes across all medical illnesses. They noted that older age and procedural delays led to the longer ED length of stay.
The results of the study, Mbuyi explained, “should guide future interventions to reduce ED length of stay for patients with acute gout.”
EULAR is an organization representing patients, health care professionals, and scientific societies of rheumatology across Europe. The EULAR 2020 Congress aims to provide a forum of the highest standard for scientific, educational, and social exchange between professionals involved in rheumatology and patient organizations in order to achieve progress in the clinical care of people with rheumatic diseases.
Mbuyi was selected to participate in the 2020 American College of Rheumatology/EULAR exchange program, an international academic exchange program designed to recognize outstanding early career faculty in rheumatology research and to promote international exchange of clinical and research skills.
You can view the abstract for the study, titled “Emergency Department Length of Stay for Patients with Acute Gout,” here.
