Education resources for gout patients are inconsistent and often lack vital information to help patients self-manage, a review reveals.

Unlike other chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, little focus has been placed on educational resources to help patients self-manage gout, wrote the rheumatologists from Otago University in New Zealand in the Journal of Rheumatology.

In a review of existing international resources they identified 30 resources (18 printed and 12 websites) all of which discussed body weight and the role of diet and uric acid.

However less than half of the resources provided a target level for SUA, only 40% suggested having these levels checked and 30% recommended monitoring after diagnosis.

Although 90% of resources mentioned the importance of long-term urate lowering therapy only 33% of resources specifically stated therapies should not be stopped during a gout attack.

Certain topics were not covered consistently within resources, such as the risk of comorbidities like diabetes and heart disease.

And many resources were pitched at an audience with a reading level above grade 9 despite the majority of adults reading below this grade.

“Further studies are needed of the links among educational resources, patient knowledge, disease self-management and health outcomes, the researchers concluded.