Gout is a metabolic disease most often affecting middle-aged to elderly men and postmenopausal women. Hyperuricemia is the biologic hallmark of gout. When present, plasma and extracellular fluids become supersaturated with uric acid, which, under the right conditions, may crystallize and result in a spectrum of clinical manifestations that may occur singly or in combination.
Section 12. Allergy, Clinical Immunology, and Rheumatology