A study of 72 patients has revealed that renal insufficiency in gout was evident in older patients, especially those with a long duration of severe articular gout and extensive tophaceous deposits in the skin.
The study was illustrated in an exhibit (below) presented at the AMA Annual Meeting in Atlantic City by Drs. C. M. Elwood, V. E. Pollak, C. L. Pirani, I. E. Steck, and R. M. Kark of the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago.
Renal biopsy was performed in 16 of the 72 cases. The investigators found that the degree of arterial and arteriolar sclerosis was generally consistent with the age of the patient. The mild to moderate glomerulosclerosis was not associated with reduction in glomerular size.
They reported that there was no good correlation between loss of renal function and the severity of histological damage seen in biopsy specimens.
Renal function was evaluated in