Know more about “Medicine” | Do I need to take medicine even if my blood uric acid level is elevated without any symptoms?

Mr. Lin's physical examination this year found that his blood uric acid level reached 500 micromoles/liter (μmol/L). The reexamination results were basically the same, and he was diagnosed with hyperuricemia. Mr. Lin does not feel any discomfort. Does he still need to take medication?

Under normal diet, two fasting blood uric acid tests are high: women>360μmol/L, men>420μmol/L, which can be diagnosed as hyperuricemia. The difference between hyperuricemia and gout is that it has not yet shown clinical symptoms such as arthritis, hyperuric acid stones or kidney stones. But if you are diagnosed like Mr. Lin, you need to control your diet and change your lifestyle. According to the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hyperuricemia and Gout in China (2019)", it is recommended to start uric acid-lowering treatment when asymptomatic hyperuricemia patients have the following conditions: blood uric acid level greater than or equal to 540μmol/L, or blood uric acid level greater than or equal to 480μmol/L and one of the following comorbidities: hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, uric acid nephrolithiasis, renal impairment. For those without comorbidities, it is recommended to control blood uric acid to less than 420μmol/L; for those with comorbidities, it is recommended to control it to less than 360μmol/L.