Prevention
Measures to prevent the formation of urate crystals include:
- high fluid intake - maintenance of urine output above 2 litres per day may be adequate in mild uricosuria i.e. urine uric acid excretion of less than 4 mmol per day
- urinary alkalinisation - promotes uric acid solubility
- xanthine oxidase inhibitors e.g. allopurinol 100-200 mg t.d.s - should be commenced 5 days prior to, and continued during, treatment with radiotherapy or cytotoxic drugs; it enables the excretion of the soluble compound hypoxanthine in preference to uric acid
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page