Prednisone and Gout is my review of studies for using prednisone for gout pain relief. So it summarizes the effectiveness of common steroid pain solutions compared with other forms of pain control.

Prednisone and Gout Audience

I wrote Prednisone and Gout for Gout Patients who have a general plan for controlling gout with pharma. So this explains some specific factors affecting prednisone as a choice for gout pain control.

If you are not sure which type of gout person you are, start with Questions for Gout Sufferers.

Prednisone and Gout Overview

We need gout pain relief when we get diagnosed with gout after early gout attacks. So this is called acute gout control. Then long-term we need a plan to get uric acid safe. But we can still get gout attacks during the first six months of uric acid treatment. So good doctors will prescribe preventative gout pain control. Or you might agree to rely on acute gout control you are already familiar with.

In this article, I review two studies of prednisone for acute gout control.

Prednisone and Gout Studies

Since gout pain is an inflammatory reaction by our immune system, doctors commonly prescribe anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling and pain. Often, this is an NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) alone or in addition to colchicine. So the gout studies I have reviewed compare NSAIDs with steroids. But first I should explain the name of the steroid used.

Prednisone and Prednisolone Disambiguation

Both studies here use prednisolone (BubbliPred, Cotolone, Flo-Pred, Millipred, Orapred, Pediapred, Prelone, Veripred 20 etc.). But it seems that prednisone (Deltasone, Prednicot, predniSONE Intensol, Rayos, Sterapred, etc.) is prescribed more often for gout sufferers. As far as these studies are concerned, these steroids are interchangeable. Because the deciding factor is how these similar steroids react with other drugs and with certain diseases. So your doctor or pharmacist must make the exact choice based on your personal medical history.

The chemical differences between prednisone and prednisolone are beyond the scope of this website. Also, note that methylprednisolone is a different steroid. So methylprednisolone is also beyond the scope of this website.

Prednisone or Indomethacin for Gout

This is a very brief review of a study comparing prednisone with indomethacin (Indocin) for gout[1]. Because the full report is widely available.

This study concludes:

Our results are in line with epidemiologic reports that acute gouty arthritis most commonly affects elderly patients and that the risk of serious gastrointestinal toxicity of NSAIDs is higher in this age group. According to the findings in our study, we recommend that moderate doses of oral prednisolone supplemented with oral acetaminophen be considered as first-line therapy in the treatment of acute gout.

However, the report also summarizes many common side-effects of long-term steroid use.

Prednisone or Naproxen for Gout

This is a very brief review of a study comparing prednisone with naproxen (Aleve) for gout[2]. Because the full report is widely available.

This study concludes:

The present study confirmed the risk profile of patients with gout for NSAIDs (eg, mean age more than 57 years, hypertension in 53%, and cardiovascular morbidity in 19%). Although no patients were excluded because of the risks from a prednisolone treatment, a quarter of the eligible patients had to be excluded because of direct safety risks if they would have been treated with naproxen (serious renal diseases, serious other comorbidities, a history of upper gastrointestinal ulcer or bleeding, and the current use of acenocoumarol). For them, a 5-day treatment with prednisolone would have been no problem. […]

In conclusion, the present study provides a strong argument to consider prednisolone as a first treatment option in patients with gout.

So again, we see that the main consideration is the comparison of side-effects.

Gout Side-Effects with Prednisolone or Naproxen
Have you had side-effects from prednisolone or naproxen for gout?

Prednisone and Your Gout

Now you know that steroids are as effective as NSAIDs at controlling acute gout. Yet both these groups of gout pain medicine have serious issues with side-effects from long-term use. So you must make uric acid control the priority over gout pain control. Then you can remove the need for either of these groups of medicines for gout.

For steroids during uric acid treatment see Prednisone for Gout.

Prednisone and Gout Under Review

This page is under review at Prednisone & Gout Research Project. So you should join that project if you want access to:

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Leave Prednisone and Gout to return to Gout Progression Phase 3: Gout Pain Relief.

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Prednisone and Gout References

  1. Man, Chi Yin, Ian TF Cheung, Peter A. Cameron, and Timothy H. Rainer. “Comparison of oral prednisolone/paracetamol and oral indomethacin/paracetamol combination therapy in the treatment of acute goutlike arthritis: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.” Annals of emergency medicine 49, no. 5 (2007): 670-677.
  2. Janssens, Hein JEM, Matthijs Janssen, Eloy H. Van de Lisdonk, Piet LCM van Riel, and Chris Van Weel. “Use of oral prednisolone or naproxen for the treatment of gout arthritis: a double-blind, randomised equivalence trial.” The Lancet 371, no. 9627 (2008): 1854-1860.

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