Gout medications at Lucas Clinic include two prescription drug classes: urate-lowering therapy (ULT) to reduce serum uric acid levels and prevent future attacks, and anti-inflammatory agents to treat acute gout flares. Gout is caused by hyperuricaemia — elevated serum uric acid — which leads to monosodium urate crystal deposition in joints (typically the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe, though any joint can be affected), causing acutely painful inflammatory arthritis. Tophi (chronic urate crystal deposits under the skin) and uric acid kidney stones are complications of untreated long-term gout.
Gout management strategy has two distinct phases: (1) acute flare treatment — colchicine, NSAIDs, or corticosteroids to resolve active inflammation; (2) long-term urate-lowering treatment — allopurinol or febuxostat to prevent further attacks by maintaining serum uric acid below the crystallisation threshold (<6 mg/dL, or <5 mg/dL in severe cases). ULT should typically be started 2–4 weeks after an acute flare has fully resolved, and initiated under the cover of anti-inflammatory prophylaxis (colchicine or NSAIDs) for the first 3–6 months to prevent mobilisation flares.