Knowledge of and Stated Adherence to the 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Gout Management: Results of a Survey of US Rheumatologists
Objective This report evaluates rheumatologists’ stated adherence to and agreement with the 2020 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Guideline for the Management of Gout. Methods A 57-item questionnaire was administered to a sample of US rheumatologists. Stated adherence scores were based on several guideline recommendations reported to be followed by rheumatologists in practice, whereas stated agreement scores were based on whether respondents always followed the recommendations. Results All 201 rheumatologists approached completed the questionnaire. The mean overall stated adherence score was 11.5 (maximum 15), whereas the mean overall stated agreement score was 7.7 (maximum 14). Less experienced rheumatologists (≤ 8 yrs; n = 49) were likely to claim adherence to more individual ACR recommendations than those with more experience (> 8 yrs; n = 152; mean stated adherence score: 12.3 vs 11.3; P ≤ 0.05). Rheumatologists who claimed to see ≤ 75 patients with gout in 6 months (n = 66)
