Hyperuricaemia in Polycythaemia Vera

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Serum ric acid levels in 99 patients with poly-cythemia vera were reviewed in the light of their hematological features. Taking the group as a whole, correlation with the peripheral blood count was poor. Examination of the sternal marrow in 54 patients in whom contemporary serum uric acid figures were available did not support the concept that marked myeloid and megakaryocyte proliferations are more commonly associated with hyperuricemia. Urate clearance estimations were performed in 52 patients; in 26 it was found to be impaired, and this included 8 with uremia, 2 of whom also had gout, and the 6 other patients with clinical gout. The mean level of serum uric acid in this group was 8-8 mg% compared with 6-3 mg% in those with a normal urate clearance; the level of the serum uric acid was significantly related to the packed cell volume in the patients with normal urate clearance. It is suggested that the hyperuricemia associated with polycythemia is related to the over-production of uric acid as a result of the blood dyscrasla and that impaired renal function may cause further rises in the serum uric acid.