Characteristics and outcomes of people with gout hospitalized due to COVID-19: data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance Physician - reported registry

Abstract

Objective. To describe people with gout who were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hospitalized and to characterize their outcomes. Methods. Data on patients with gout hospitalized for COVID-19 between March 12, 2020, and October 25, 2021,were extracted from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance registry. Descriptive statistics were used to describethe demographics, comorbidities, medication exposures, and COVID-19 outcomes including oxygenation or ventilation support and death. Results. One hundred sixty-three patients with gout who developed COVID-19 and were hospitalized were included. The mean age was 63 years, and 85% were male. The majority of the group lived in the Western Pacific Region (35%) and North America (18%). Nearly half (46%) had two or more comorbidities, with hypertension (56%), cardiovascular disease(28%), diabetes mellitus (26%), chronic kidney disease (25%), and obesity (23%) being the most common. Glucocorticoids and colchicine were used pre-COVID-19 in 11% and 12% of the cohort, respectively. Over two thirds (68%) ofthe cohort required supplemental oxygen or ventilatory support during hospitalization. COVID-19-related death wasreported in 16% of the overall cohort, with 73% of deaths documented in people with two or more comorbidities. Conclusion. This cohort of people with gout and COVID-19 who were hospitalized had high frequencies of ventilatory support and death. This suggests that patients with gout who were hospitalized for COVID-19 may be at risk of poor outcomes, perhaps related to known risk factors for poor outcomes, such as age and presence of comorbidity.