Disease activity trajectories in juvenile dermatomyositis from childhood to adulthood.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether there are identifiable subgroups of disease activity trajectory in a population of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) patients-followed throughout childhood and into adulthood-and determine factors that predict those trajectory groupings. METHODS: This is a retrospective, longitudinal inception cohort of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, largely JDM. We sought to identify baseline factors that predict membership into different groups (latent classes) of disease activity trajectory. RESULTS: A total of 172 patients (64% females), with median age at diagnosis of 7.7 years, were analyzed. We studied 4,725 visits (1,471 patient-years). We identified 3 latent classes of longitudinal disease activity, as measured by the modified disease activity score (DASm), with distinct class trajectories predicted by DASm at baseline, and by the changes of DASm from either baseline to 3 months or baseline to 6 months (early response to therapy). In the analysis in which DASm at baseline and the changes of DASm from baseline to 6 months are included as predictors, Class 1 (10%) has persistently high disease activity, Class 2 (34%) is characterized by moderate disease activity, and Class 3 (56%) is characterized by individuals with a high early disease activity but an apparently good response to treatment and long-term low disease activity. CONCLUSION: High early disease activity, and treatment resistance in the first few months, predict a more chronic longitudinal course of JDM.

Early Abnormal Nailfold Capillary Changes Are Predictive of Calcinosis Development in Juvenile Dermatomyositis.

OBJECTIVE: The long-term outcomes of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) are more favorable in recent years. However, calcinosis is still among the complications that can cause serious functional impairment. Little is known about the pathogenesis and risk factors of calcinosis. The aim of this study is to determine risk factors for the development of calcinosis in JDM. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study. All patients were diagnosed and followed at the multidisciplinary JDM clinic of The Hospital for Sick Children, from January 1, 1989, until May 31, 2018. To investigate predictors of incident calcinosis, Cox regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 172 patients met inclusion criteria, with a median age at diagnosis of 7.7 years (IQR 4.9-12.1), and a median follow-up of 8.5 years (IQR 3.4-12.6, range 0.1-28.3). The only risk factor significantly associated with the development of calcinosis in the univariate analysis was nailfold abnormality at baseline (hazard ratio [HR] 4.86, P = 0.03). In multivariable analysis, including nailfold abnormality, age of diagnosis, sex, and duration from onset to diagnosis, the only statistically significant risk factor for calcinosis was the presence of nailfold abnormalities (HR 4.98, P = 0.03). Further, calcinosis was significantly increased in patients with a chronic course (chi-square 25.8, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The presence of abnormal nailfold capillary changes at baseline is predictive for the development of calcinosis in children with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

Interventions for tophi in gout.

BACKGROUND: Tophi develop in untreated or uncontrolled gout. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2014.  OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of non-surgical and surgical treatments for the management of tophi in gout. SEARCH METHODS: We updated the search of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and Embase databases to 28 August 2020. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials examining interventions for tophi in gout in adults. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We included one trial in our original review. We added four more trials (1796 participants) in this update. One had three arms; pegloticase infusion every two weeks (biweekly), monthly pegloticase infusion (pegloticase infusion alternating with placebo infusion every two weeks) and placebo. Two studies looked at lesinurad 200 mg or 400 mg in combination with allopurinol. One trial studied lesinurad 200 mg or 400 mg in combination with febuxostat. One trial compared febuxostat 80 mg and 120 mg to allopurinol. Two trials were at unclear risk of performance and detection bias due to lack of information on blinding of participants and personnel. All other trials were at low risk of bias. Moderate-certainty evidence (downgraded for imprecision; one study; 79 participants) showed that biweekly pegloticase resolved tophi in 21/52 participants compared with 2/27 on placebo (risk ratio (RR) 5.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38 to 21.54; number needed to treat for a benefit (NNTB) 3, 95% CI 2 to 6). Similar proportions of participants receiving biweekly pegloticase (80/85) had an adverse event compared to placebo (41/43) (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.07). However, more participants on biweekly pegloticase (15/85) withdrew due to an adverse event compared to placebo (1/43) (RR 7.59, 95% CI 1.04 to 55.55; number needed to treat for a harm (NNTH) 7, 95% CI 4 to 16). More participants on monthly pegloticase (11/52) showed complete resolution of tophi compared with placebo (2/27) (RR 2.86, 95% CI 0.68 to 11.97; NNTB 8, 95% CI 4 to 91). Similar numbers of participants on monthly pegloticase (84/84) had an adverse event compared to placebo (41/43) (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.14). More participants on monthly pegloticase (16/84) withdrew due to adverse events compared to placebo (1/43) (RR 8.19, 95% CI 1.12 to 59.71; NNTH 6, 95% CI 4 to 14). Infusion reaction was the most common reason for withdrawal. Moderate-certainty evidence (2 studies; 103 participants; downgraded for imprecision) showed no clinically significant difference for complete resolution of target tophus in the lesinurad 200 mg plus allopurinol arm (11/53) compared to the placebo plus allopurinol arm (16/50) (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.04 to 4.57), or in the lesinurad 400 mg plus allopurinol arm (12/48) compared to the placebo plus allopurinol arm (16/50) (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.49). An extension study examined lesinurad 200 mg or 400 mg in combination with febuxostat, or placebo (low-certainty evidence, downgraded for indirectness and imprecision). Participants on lesinurad in the original study continued (CONT) on the same dose. Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may be beneficial for tophi resolution; 43/65 in the lesinurad 400 mg CONT arm compared to 38/64 in the lesinurad 200 mg CONT arm had tophi resolution (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.46). Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may result in no difference in adverse events; 57/65 in the lesinurad 400 mg CONT arm had an adverse event compared to 50/64 in lesinurad 200 mg CONT arm (RR 1.12, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.32). Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may result in no difference in withdrawals due to adverse events; 10/65 participants in the lesinurad 400 mg CONT arm withdrew due to an adverse event compared to 10/64 participants in the lesinurad 200 mg CONT arm (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.44 to 2.20). Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may result in no difference in mean serum uric acid (sUA), which was 3 mg/dl in the lesinurad 400 mg CONT group compared to 3.9 mg/dl in the lesinurad 200 mg CONT group (mean difference -0.90, 95% CI -1.51 to -0.29). Participants who were not on lesinurad in the original study were randomised (CROSS) to lesinurad 200 mg or 400 mg, both in combination with febuxostat. Low-certainty evidence downgraded for indirectness and imprecision showed that lesinurad 400 mg (CROSS) may result in tophi resolution (17/34) compared to lesinurad 200 mg (CROSS) (14/33) (RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.98). Lesinurad 400 mg in combination with febuxostat may result in no difference in adverse events (33/34 in the lesinurad 400 mg CROSS arm compared to 27/33 in the lesinurad 200 mg (CROSS); RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.41). Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may result in no difference in withdrawals due to adverse events, 5/34 in the lesinurad 400 mg CROSS arm withdrew compared to 2/33 in the lesinurad 200 mg CROSS arm (RR 2.43, 95% CI 0.51 to 11.64). Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat results in no difference in sUA (4.2 mg/dl in lesinurad 400 mg CROSS) compared to lesinurad 200 mg (3.8 mg/dl in lesinurad 200 mg CROSS), mean difference 0.40 mg/dl, 95% CI -0.75 to 1.55. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-certainty evidence showed that pegloticase is probably beneficial for resolution of tophi in gout. Although there was little difference in adverse events when compared to placebo, participants on pegloticase had more withdrawals due to adverse events. Lesinurad 400 mg plus febuxostat may be beneficial for tophi resolution compared with lesinurad 200 mg plus febuxostat; there was no difference in adverse events between these groups. We were unable to determine whether lesinurad plus febuxostat is more effective than placebo. Lesinurad (400 mg or 200 mg) plus allopurinol is probably not beneficial for tophi resolution, and there was no difference in adverse events between these groups. RCTs on interventions for managing tophi in gout are needed, and the lack of trial data is surprising given that allopurinol is a well-established treatment for gout.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis presenting with myositis: case based review.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangitis (EGPA) is a systemic necrotizing small-vessel vasculitis that presents heterogeneously as a multi-organ disease. EGPA evolves through three phases: (1) prodromic phase with asthma, atopy and sinusitis, (2) eosinophilic phase characterized by peripheral eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration without necrosis, and (3) vasculitic phase involving organ damage. EGPA often presents with asthma, mononeuritis multiplex, lung infiltrates, sinusitis and constitutional symptoms. Although myalgias are common, EGPA rarely presents with true weakness with elevated creatinine kinase (CK). We describe a rare case of a patient presenting with eosinophilic myositis, who subsequently developed fulminant EGPA. The patient's diagnosis was supported by an initial clinical presentation of weakness and elevated CK, followed by fleeting pulmonary infiltrates and mononeuritis multiplex, peripheral eosinophilia, and strongly positive myeloperoxidase anti-cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA). Muscle biopsy revealed eosinophilic myositis. The patient responded well to high-dose glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide with improved symptoms and biochemical markers. Based on our literature review, there are only seven similar cases reported of EGPA presenting with myositis and confirmatory muscle biopsies. There is significant heterogeneity in their clinical findings, histopathology and treatments that were used. Our case report and literature review highlights the importance of recognizing myositis as an initial presenting symptom of EGPA, providing an opportunity for early diagnosis and treatment to reduce risk of further disease progression and morbidity.

Clinical spectrum and therapeutics in Canadian patients with anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5)-positive dermatomyositis: a case-based review.

The objective of the study was to determine the clinical features and treatment course in Canadian patients with dermatomyositis (DM) associated with the anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody (MDA5). A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients with anti-MDA5 antibody DM from two Canadian tertiary care centre between 2014 and 2018 was done. Twenty-one consecutive cases of anti-MDA5-positive DM were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 52 years, 71% Asians, predominantly Chinese, and 29% Caucasians. In this case series, all patients had either typical DM rash, or vasculopathy and ulceration unique to anti-MDA5-positive DM. 38% of the patients had rapid progressive (RP)-interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD), 33% had chronic ILD and 29% had asymptomatic ILD. Anti-Ro52 positivity was more prevalent in RP-ILD. Mortality was high in the RP-ILD group, with five deaths in eight patients. Lung transplant was life-saving intervention for three of the RP-ILD patients who survived. A review of the literature in treating RP-ILD associated with anti-MDA5 is presented. Although evidence is limited to small case series, cyclophosphamide (CYC) for refractory skin lesions, and CYC or mycophenolate mofetil plus a calcineurin inhibitor or rituximab (RTX) for RP-ILD appear efficacious. This is the largest North American case series of anti-MDA5-positive DM patients to date. There is a wide spectrum of clinical presentation of this entity. Survival is poor in those with RP-ILD; early aggressive immunosuppression and timely lung transplant were life-saving in our patients with RP-ILD.

DEVELOPING AN IPAD® APPLICATION FOR DATA COLLECTION IN A RHEUMATOLOGY RESEARCH CLINIC.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical research data are often collected on paper and later inputted onto an electronic database. This method is time consuming and potentially introduces errors. Therefore, to make primary data collection more efficient and less error prone we aimed to develop a touch-screen application for data collection in a psoriatic arthritis research clinic and compared it with the pre-existing paper-based system. METHODS: We developed a Web application using Java and optimized it for the iPad®. It highlights missing fields for physicians in real time, and only permits submission of data collection form after corrections are made. For its evaluation, seven physicians participated, and before each patient visit they were randomly assigned paper or iPad® data entry. Number of errors, length of visit, and time between clinic visit and completion of data entry were measured. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients seen in the clinic who agreed to participate were randomly assigned to be evaluated by clinic physicians using the iPad® (fifty-three patients) or a paper protocol (fifty-three patients). On average, 3.34 omissions were found per paper form, of which 2.24 would have been detected on the iPad®. The iPad® increased the mean patient encounter time from 37.2 minutes to 46.5 minutes, but eliminated delay between a clinic visit and its data entry. CONCLUSIONS: Entering data using the iPad® application makes the patient encounter slightly longer, but reduces "missing fields." It also eliminates the delay between clinic visit and data entry thus improving the efficiency of clinical data capture in a research setting.

Interventions for tophi in gout.

BACKGROUND: Tophi develop in untreated or uncontrolled gout. Their presence can lead to severe and potentially fatal complications. To date there have been no systematic reviews focused on the management of tophi in gout. OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of non-surgical and surgical treatments for the management of tophi in gout. SEARCH METHODS: We searched three databases: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE. We handsearched American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) abstracts from 2010 to 2011, references from included studies and trial registries. We completed the most recent search on 20 May 2013. SELECTION CRITERIA: All published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials with quasi-randomised methods of allocating participants to treatment examining interventions for tophi in gout in adults. Possible interventions included urate-lowering pharmacological treatment (e.g. benzbromarone, probenecid, allopurinol, febuxostat, pegloticase), surgical removal or other interventions such as haemodialysis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors extracted data from titles, abstracts and selected studies for detailed review, and extracted data and risk of bias independently. Major outcomes were number of participants with complete resolution of tophi, number of study participant withdrawals due to adverse events, joint pain reduction, function, quality of life, serum urate normalisation and total adverse events. MAIN RESULTS: Only one study, at low risk of all biases, met the inclusion criteria. This was the pooled results from two RCTs (225 participants, 145 with tophi at baseline) randomised to one of three arms; pegloticase infusion every two weeks (biweekly), monthly pegloticase infusion (pegloticase infusion alternating with placebo infusion every two weeks) and placebo. Moderate-quality evidence from one study indicated that biweekly pegloticase 8 mg infusion reduced tophi in the subset of participants with tophi, but increased withdrawals due to adverse events in all participants, and monthly infusion appeared to result in less benefit.Biweekly pegloticase treatment resulted in resolution of tophi in 21/52 participants compared with 2/27 who received placebo (risk ratio (RR) 5.45, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.38 to 21.54; number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) 3 (95% CI 2 to 6).Eleven of 52 participants with monthly pegloticase treatment had complete resolution of one or more tophi compared with 2/27 who received placebo (RR 2.86, 95% CI 0.68 to 11.97).Participant-reported pain relief of 30% or greater, function, quality of life, serum urate normalisation, were reported for all participants but not separately for those with tophi; therefore, we did not include the results.Pegloticase administered biweekly resulted in more withdrawals due to adverse events compared with placebo (15/85 participants with pegloticase versus 1/43 participants with placebo; RR 7.59, 95% CI 1.04 to 55.55; number needed to treat for an additional harmful outcome (NNTH) 7, 95% CI 4 to 17). Pegloticase administered monthly also resulted in more withdrawals due to adverse events than placebo (16/84 participants with pegloticase versus 1/43 participants with placebo; RR 8.19, 95% CI 1.12 to 59.71; NNTH 6, 95% CI 4 to 14). Most withdrawals were due to infusion reactions.Total adverse events were high in all treatment groups: 80/85 participants administered pegloticase biweekly reported an adverse event compared with 41/43 from the placebo group (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.07); 84/84 participants administered pegloticase monthly reported an adverse event versus 41/43 in the placebo group (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.14). As 80% of adverse events were due to flares of gout, probably unrelated to the drug treatment per se, this may explain the high rate of adverse events in the placebo group - who were essentially untreated. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This study showed pegloticase is probably beneficial in the management of tophi in gout, in terms of resolution of tophi, but with a high risk of adverse infusion reactions. However, there is a need for more RCT data considering other interventions, including surgical removal of tophi.

The efficacy and safety of treatments for acute gout: results from a series of systematic literature reviews including Cochrane reviews on intraarticular glucocorticoids, colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and interleukin-1 inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids (GC), colchicine, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitors, and paracetamol to treat acute gout. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to September 2011. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-RCT in adults with acute gout that compared GC, colchicine, NSAID, IL-1 inhibitors, and paracetamol to no treatment, placebo, another intervention, or combination therapy were included. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Primary endpoints were pain and adverse events. Data were pooled where appropriate. RESULTS: Twenty-six trials evaluating GC (N = 5), NSAID (N = 21), colchicine (N = 2), and canakinumab (N = 1) were included. No RCT assessed paracetamol or intraarticular (IA) GC. No RCT compared systemic GC with placebo. Moderate quality evidence (3 trials) concluded that systemic GC were as effective as NSAID but safer. Low quality evidence (1 trial) showed that both high- and low-dose colchicine were more effective than placebo, and low-dose colchicine was no different to placebo with respect to safety but safer than high-dose colchicine. Low quality evidence (1 trial) showed no difference between NSAID and placebo with regard to pain or inflammation. No NSAID was superior to another. Moderate quality evidence (1 trial) found that 150 mg canakinumab was more effective than a single dose of intramuscular GC (40 mg triamcinolone) and equally safe. CONCLUSION: GC, NSAID, low-dose colchicine, and canakinumab all effectively treat acute gout. There was insufficient evidence to rank them. Systemic GC appeared safer than NSAID and lower-dose colchicine was safer than higher-dose colchicine.

Interventions for tophi in gout: a Cochrane systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the available literature on the management of tophi in gout. This article is based on the Cochrane Review Interventions for Tophi in Gout published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. METHODS: Medline, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched using a strategy developed with an experienced librarian. We also searched American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism conference abstracts from 2010-2011. Included articles were reviewed in detail and a risk of bias (using the Cochrane tool) and quality assessment were performed. RESULTS: In total, 3206 references were recovered. Of these, 72 articles were selected based on our inclusion criteria. This included 1 report of 2 randomized controlled trials, 2 nonrandomized studies, and 69 case series and reports. The study with 2 randomized controlled trials looked at pegloticase. This showed improvement in tophi with treatment. One observational prospective trial looked at allopurinol and benzbromarone individually and in combination. It noted that achieving lower serum urate levels was associated with a faster reduction of tophi. An open-label extension trial noted that longterm maintenance of serum uric acid < 6.0 mg/dl with febuxostat led to a reduction in tophi. The case series and reports looked at surgical, pharmacological, and other interventions, as well as combination therapies. All surgical interventions reported improvement in pain and/or function. No report had objective measures of outcome. CONCLUSION: Treatment with urate-lowering therapy such as allopurinol, benzbromarone, allopurinol + benzbromarone in combination, febuxostat, or pegloticase can lead to reduction in tophi. There is some evidence that achieving a lower serum urate level leads to a faster rate of tophi reduction.

Treatment of asymptomatic hyperuricemia for the prevention of gouty arthritis, renal disease, and cardiovascular events: a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review available literature on treatment of hyperuricemia (HU) as a measure of preventing gouty arthritis, renal disease, or cardiovascular events in asymptomatic patients. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, clinical trials registries of the World Health Organization and the US National Institutes of Health, and abstracts from American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism meetings, for interventional studies involving adults with no history of gouty arthritis, who were treated for HU. Outcomes of interest included gouty arthritis, renal disease (i.e., renal insufficiency, urate nephropathy, nephrolithiasis), and cardiovascular events (i.e., myocardial infarction, heart failure, ischemic stroke). RESULTS: A total of 3 studies met the inclusion criteria, 2 studies assessing the prevention of renal disease and 1 study evaluating the potential for delaying progression of preexisting renal disease. In hyperuricemic patients without renal disease, treatment resulted in increased estimated glomerular filtration rate. In hyperuricemic patients with preexisting renal disease, treatment resulted in no significant elevation of serum creatinine over a 1-year followup. However, differences in renal function between the treatment and no-treatment groups were not statistically significant in any of the identified studies. CONCLUSION: Very limited data are available on the treatment of HU in asymptomatic patients. There is currently insufficient empiric evidence to suggest that lowering serum uric acid level in asymptomatic patients with HU can prevent gouty arthritis, renal disease, or cardiovascular events.

Multinational evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of gout: integrating systematic literature review and expert opinion of a broad panel of rheumatologists in the 3e initiative.

We aimed to develop evidence-based multinational recommendations for the diagnosis and management of gout. Using a formal voting process, a panel of 78 international rheumatologists developed 10 key clinical questions pertinent to the diagnosis and management of gout. Each question was investigated with a systematic literature review. Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL and abstracts from 2010-2011 European League Against Rheumatism and American College of Rheumatology meetings were searched in each review. Relevant studies were independently reviewed by two individuals for data extraction and synthesis and risk of bias assessment. Using this evidence, rheumatologists from 14 countries (Europe, South America and Australasia) developed national recommendations. After rounds of discussion and voting, multinational recommendations were formulated. Each recommendation was graded according to the level of evidence. Agreement and potential impact on clinical practice were assessed. Combining evidence and clinical expertise, 10 recommendations were produced. One recommendation referred to the diagnosis of gout, two referred to cardiovascular and renal comorbidities, six focused on different aspects of the management of gout (including drug treatment and monitoring), and the last recommendation referred to the management of asymptomatic hyperuricaemia. The level of agreement with the recommendations ranged from 8.1 to 9.2 (mean 8.7) on a 1-10 scale, with 10 representing full agreement. Ten recommendations on the diagnosis and management of gout were established. They are evidence-based and supported by a large panel of rheumatologists from 14 countries, enhancing their utility in clinical practice.

Intra-articular glucocorticoids for acute gout.

BACKGROUND: Although intra-articular glucocorticoids are a commonly used intervention in the treatment of acute gout, there is little evidence to support their safety and efficacy in this setting. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-articular glucocorticoids in the treatment of acute gout. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid EMBASE for studies to 16th October 2012. We also searched the 2010 to 2011 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) abstracts and performed a handsearch of the reference lists of articles considered for inclusion. SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs) that used quasi-randomisation methods to allocate participants to treatment and compared intra-articular glucocorticoids to another therapy (active or placebo) in adults with acute gout. Outcomes selected for inclusion were pain, the proportion of participant withdrawals due to adverse events, inflammation, function, patient global assessment of treatment success, quality of life and proportion of particpants with serious adverse events. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected the studies for inclusion and planned to extract the data and perform a risk of bias assessment. MAIN RESULTS: No trials were identified that evaluated the efficacy and safety of intra-articular glucocorticoids for acute gout. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is presently no evidence from randomised trials to support the use of intra-articular glucocorticoid treatment in acute gout. Evidence suggests intra-articular glucocorticoids may be a safe and effective treatment in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. These results may be generalisable to people with acute gout, and the treatment may be especially useful in people when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or colchicine are contraindicated.