Prevalence and possible causes of hypouricemia at a tertiary care hospital.
- Author:
Chang Nam SON
1
;
Ji Min KIM
;
Sang Hyon KIM
;
Soo Kyung CHO
;
Chan Bum CHOI
;
Yoon Kyoung SUNG
;
Tae Hwan KIM
;
Sang Cheol BAE
;
Dae Hyun YOO
;
Jae Bum JUN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Hypouricemia; Uric acid
- MeSH: Allopurinol; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Diabetes Mellitus; Febuxostat; Hematologic Neoplasms; Humans; Inpatients; Outpatients; Prevalence*; Salicylates; Tertiary Healthcare*; Uric Acid; Warfarin
- From:The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine 2016;31(5):971-976
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to investigate the prevalence and possible causes of hypouricemia in the Korean population and to compare our findings with published results of other populations. METHODS: We examined the serum uric acid levels of 30,757 subjects who had their uric acid values measured at least once during a 1-year period. All individuals with hypouricemia (serum uric acid < 2.0 mg/dL, n = 424) were reviewed with respect to medical drug history and concomitant diseases previously identified as being associated with hypouricemia. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypouricemia was 4.14% (299/7,223) among inpatients and 0.53% (125/23,534) among outpatients, for an overall prevalence of 1.39% (424/30,757). Possible causes associated with hypouricemia were found to be solid or hematologic malignancies (n = 86), diabetes mellitus (n = 56), and therapeutic drugs (n = 29). The medications were allopurinol (n = 11), angiotensin II receptor blockers (n = 10), salicylates (n = 6), febuxostat (n = 1), and warfarin (n = 1). In the remaining 226 individuals, the cause of hypouricemia was not identified. CONCLUSIONS: Hypouricemia is relatively common in the Korean population compared to those of other countries. The possible causes associated with hypouricemia are related to underlying diseases and medications.
