RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF RECURRENT HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS DUE TO GOUT AND THE ASSOCIATED COMORBIDITIES AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective:To analyze recurrent hospital admissions to the hospital due to gout and associated comorbidities Methodology:The retrospective analysis is based upon the hospital records of 200 consecutive patients (non-probabilityconsecutive sampling) presenting again to the study setting (after prior admission and discharge) due to gout and its associated comorbidities from January 2016 to December 2016. The characteristics of all the patients and the recurrent admissions were analyzed as individual variables and analyzed using SPSS v. 19.0 and Microsoft Excel 2016. Results:A total of 200 admissions due of gout were aggravated by their respective comorbidities, meriting re-admission. The comorbidities meriting re-admission included hypertension (40%), renal anomalies (25%) and diabetes mellitus (30%). 5% of the re-admissions were due to gout alone, without any comorbidity. Conclusion:This study is the first of its kind, to analyze the re-admission of gout patients and the spectrum of comorbidities behind the re-admissions a tertiary care hospital in a major city of Hyderabad. The hospital plays host to a wide array of patients hailing from diverse sociodemographic backgrounds. Keywords: Gout, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Renal anomalies and Medical comorbidities