Crystallising the Role of Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone in the Management of Acute Gout: a Review

Objectives: Acute gout is traditionally treated with NSAIDs, corticosteroids, and colchicine. However, the presence of comorbid conditions and advancing age, often seen in hospitalised patients, may prevent their use. We reviewed the published data on the use of ACTH in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis.

Methods: A search was performed up to June 2017. We included clinical trials or case studies/series where ACTH had been administered in human subjects as a treatment for acute gout or pseudogout.

Results: Data consistently demonstrated ACTH to be fast-acting, typically relieving the painful symptoms of acute gout within 24 h of treatment. Furthermore, the average number of days needed to achieve 100% resolution of gout symptoms in patients treated with ACTH was similar to those of the corticosteroid triamcinolone. Retrospective data confirm the efficacy of ACTH or the synthetic analogue Synacthen in the treatment of acute gout in patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension, including those who were hospitalised, with all patients responding after 1-3 doses. ACTH appears to be well-tolerated with side effects being minor and transient in nature. Importantly, ACTH/Synacthen has no clinically significant effect on glucose and potassium levels or blood pressure. Clinical evidence from available case studies supports these findings.

Conclusions: ACTH is a fast acting, efficacious and well-tolerated option for patients with acute gout when traditional therapies have failed or are contraindicated. However, large, carefully designed, randomised controlled trials are required to confirm these findings.