Ketorolac is an NSAID promoted for systemic use mainly as a short-term analgesic (not longer than 1 week), not as an anti-inflammatory drug (although it has typical NSAID properties). Pharmacokinetics are presented in Table 36–1. The drug is an effective analgesic and has been used successfully to replace morphine in some situations involving mild to moderate postsurgical pain. It is most often given intramuscularly or intravenously, but an oral formulation is available. When used with an opioid, it may decrease the opioid requirement by 25–50%. Toxicities are similar to those of other NSAIDs (see page 645), although renal toxicity is more common with chronic use.
Tramadol is a centrally acting synthetic analgesic, structurally related to opioids. Since naloxone, an opioid receptor blocker, inhibits only 30% of the analgesic effect of tramadol, the mechanism of action of this drug must involve both nonopioid and opioid receptors. Tramadol does not have significant anti-inflammatory effects. The drug may exert part of its analgesic effect by enhancing 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release and inhibiting the reuptake of norepinephrine and 5-HT (see Chapter 31).
Gout is a metabolic disease characterized by recurrent episodes of acute arthritis due to deposits of monosodium urate in joints and cartilage. Uric acid renal calculi, tophi, and interstitial nephritis may also occur. Adverse cardiovascular outcomes are becoming more clear as well. Gout is usually associated with a high serum uric acid level (hyperuricemia), a poorly soluble substance that is the major end product of purine metabolism. In most mammals, uricase converts uric acid to the more soluble allantoin; this enzyme is absent in humans. While clinical gouty episodes are associated with hyperuricemia, most individuals with hyperuricemia may never develop a clinical event from urate crystal deposition.
The treatment of gout aims to relieve acute gouty attacks and prevent recurrent gouty episodes and urate lithiasis. Therapies for acute gout are based on our current understanding of the pathophysiologic events that occur in this disease (Figure 36–5). Clinical gout is dependent on a macromolecular complex of proteins, called NLRP3, which regulates the activation of IL-1. Urate crystals activate NLRP3, resulting in release of prostaglandins and lysosomal enzymes by synoviocytes. Attracted by these chemotactic mediators, polymorphonuclear leukocytes migrate into the joint space and amplify the ongoing inflammatory process. In the later phases of the attack, increased numbers of mononuclear phagocytes (macrophages) appear, ingest the urate crystals, and release more inflammatory mediators.
Before starting chronic urate-lowering therapy for gout, patients in whom hyperuricemia is associated with gout and urate lithiasis must be clearly distinguished from individuals with only hyperuricemia. The efficacy of long-term drug treatment in an asymptomatic hyperuricemic person is unproved. Although there are data suggesting a clear relationship between the degree of uric acid elevation and the likelihood of clinical gout, in some individuals, uric acid levels may be elevated up to 2 standard deviations above the mean for a lifetime without adverse consequences. Many different agents have been used for the treatment of acute and chronic gout. However, non-adherence to these drugs is exceedingly common; adherence has been documented to be 18–26% in younger patients. Providers should be aware of compliance as an important issue.
MNPMNPPMNColchicineSynoviocytesUratecrystalPGLTB4Indomethacin,phenylbutazonePGPGEnzymesMNPIL-1IL-1–––