Association of Fibrinogen-to-Red Blood Cell Ratio with Disease Severity in Gout

Overview

This study evaluates the fibrinogen-to-red blood cell ratio (FRR) in hospitalized gout patients, revealing its association with disease severity, inflammatory markers, and short-term outcomes. FRR demonstrated stronger correlations with traditional inflammatory markers compared to the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Background

Gout is a prevalent chronic inflammatory arthritis that can lead to significant morbidity if not managed effectively. Traditional inflammatory markers have limitations in fully capturing the disease burden and inflammatory status in gout patients. The exploration of FRR as a potential biomarker may enhance the understanding of gout's inflammatory profile.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• High FRR is associated with more frequent annual flares in gout patients.
• Patients with high FRR have a higher prevalence of tophi and affected joints.
• FRR correlates more strongly with CRP and ESR compared to NLR and PLR.
• High FRR is independently associated with proteinuria and 30-day readmission rates.
• FRR shows higher AUCs than NLR and PLR for predicting tophi and proteinuria.

Clinical Implications

The findings indicate that FRR is associated with disease burden and inflammatory activity in gout patients.

Conclusion

FRR is associated with disease severity and short-term outcomes in hospitalized gout patients.

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