Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38098046›Full record

SynthesisBMC pharmacology & toxicology2023

Effectiveness and safety of different doses of febuxostat compared with allopurinol in the treatment of hyperuricemia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Hong Xie, Nan Hu, Ting Pan, Jun-Cai Wu, Miao Yu, Deng-Chao Wang

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC pharmacology & toxicology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Comprehensive Review on Febuxostat for Hyperuricemia with Gout: Insights from Current Practice and Clinical Trials.High blood pressure & cardiovascular prevention : the official journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hong XieDepartment of General Medicine, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China.
Nan HuDepartment of General Surgery, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 19 Tanmulin Road, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China.
Ting PanDepartment of General Medicine, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China.
Jun-Cai WuDepartment of General Medicine, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China.
Miao YuDepartment of Basic Medicine, Sichuan Vocational College of Health and Rehabilitation, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China.
Deng-Chao WangDepartment of General Surgery, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 19 Tanmulin Road, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, China. wangdengchaopwk@163.com.
Zigong First People's Hospital · CNSecond Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe prevalence of hyperuricemia has increased steadily with the continuous improvement of living standards. Some studies have reported the clinical effectiveness and safety of different doses of febuxostat in comparison with allopurinol in hyperuricemia treatment, but the sample sizes of the studies have been small, and the results have been inconsistent. We designed this meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different doses of febuxostat compared with allopurinol in the treatment of hyperuricemia.

methodsThe Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the use of febuxostat and allopurinol for the treatment of hyperuricemia. The effectiveness and safety of different doses of febuxostat and allopurinol in treating hyperuricemia were assessed using meta-analysis.

resultsA total of 11 randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the percentage of patients achieving serum uric acid levels of 6.0 mg/dL or less was higher among patients taking febuxostat (80 mg/d) than among patients taking allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.79, 95% CI (1.55, 2.08), P < 0.00001]. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of patients achieving serum uric acid levels of 6.0 mg/dL or less between febuxostat (40 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.10, 95% CI (0.93, 1.31), P = 0.25]. There was also no statistically significant difference in the incidence of gout between the febuxostat (40 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 0.97, 95% CI (0.64, 1.49), P = 0.91] or between the febuxostat (80 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.13, 95% CI (0.81, 1.58), P = 0.48].No significant difference in the incidence of major adverse reactions as observed between the febuxostat (40 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.16; 95% CI (0.43, 3.16), P = 0.77] or between the febuxostat (80 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.06; 95% CI (0.79, 1.42), P = 0.70]. The incidence of adverse cardiovascular events did not differ significantly between the febuxostat (40 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.30; 95% CI (0.57, 2.95), P = 0.53] or between the febuxostat (80 mg/d) and allopurinol (200-300 mg/d) [RR = 1.79; 95% CI (0.74, 4.32), P = 0.20].

conclusionsFebuxostat (80 mg/d) was associated with a higher percentage of patients achieving serum uric acid levels of 6.0 mg/dL or less than allopurinol (200-300 mg/d), however, febuxostat (80 mg/d) did not exhibit better efficacy in reducing the incidence of gout. More attention should be devoted to the adverse reactions caused by an increase in febuxostat doses.

Indexed as

GoutHyperuricemiaAllopurinolFebuxostatGout SuppressantsHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicThiazolesTreatment OutcomeUric AcidAllopurinolFebuxostatGout SuppressantsThiazolesUric AcidAllopurinolFebuxostatHyperuricemiaMeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID38098046
PMCPMC10722766
OpenAlexW4389727597

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.