Gout in pregnancy: a case report and review of the literature

While gout is a common inflammatory joint disease, its occurrence in women in their reproductive years is very rare. This is thought to be the result of the uricosuric effect of estrogen. The higher estrogen levels during pregnancy are believed to protect the mother against an acute gout flare. We report a case of a patient with gout who experienced a flare in the third trimester of her pregnancy and a review of the English literature on gout in pregnancy. In addition to this case, we identified 19 pregnancies in 8 women with a diagnosis of gout. Of those, 6 experienced an antepartum flare and 7 a postpartum flare. Our patient developed a gout flare in the third trimester of the pregnancy, which was otherwise complicated by gestational diabetes. Her flare was well controlled with pharmacotherapy (hydrocodone and allopurinol). We hypothesize that her pregnancy induced insulin resistance, which decreased the renal excretion of urate provoked this flare. Little is known about the treatment of acute gout and long-term management during pregnancy. The initiation of preventive treatment with allopurinol should be based on individualized risks and benefits, but we suggest that gestational diabetes justifies its use in the second half of pregnancy.