Efficacy and safety of febuxostat in elderly female patients

Tomohiro Mizuno, Takahiro Hayashi, Sayo Hikosaka, Yuka Shimabukuro, Maho Murase, Kazuo Takahashi, Hiroki Hayashi, Yukio Yuzawa, Tadashi Nagamatsu, Shigeki Yamada

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Maintenance of low serum urate levels is important for the management of  gout. Achieving the recommended serum urate levels of less than 6.0 mg/dL is difficult in elderly (65 years of age or older) patients with renal impairment. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol and febuxostat are used for this purpose. Although febuxostat had been shown to be efficacious in elderly patients, its safety and efficacy in elderly female patients with hyperuricemia remain unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of febuxostat in elderly female patients.

Methods: We studied a retrospective cohort study. The study included elderly Japanese patients (65 years of age or older) who were treated with febuxostat at Fujita Health University Hospital from January 2012 to December 2013. The treatment goal was defined as achievement of serum urate levels of 6.0 mg/dL or lower within 16 weeks; this was the primary endpoint in the present study. Adverse events of febuxostat were defined as more than twofold increases in Common Terminology Criteria for adverse events scores from baseline.

Results: We evaluated 82 patients treated with febuxostat during the observation period and classified them into male (n=53) and female (n=29) groups. The mean time to achievement of the treatment goal was significantly shorter in the female group (53 days) than in the male group (71 days). There were no significant differences in adverse events between the 2 groups.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the efficacy of febuxostat in elderly female patients is superior to that in elderly male patients and that the safety is equivalent.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1489-1493
Number of pages5
JournalClinical Interventions in Aging
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 04-09-2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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