Purpose of review: Novel therapies for gout have recently been developed which has prompted considerable efforts in defining the relevant outcomes for measurement in intervention trials of gout. This review summarizes the consensus exercises refining domains for measurement and the work of individual groups in assessment of the validity of measurement tools for these domains.
Recent findings: Recent publications have focused on the consensus exercises and validation studies of measurement tools, particularly in relation to tophus size and imaging.
Summary: Consensus on potential outcome domains has been achieved, but measuring these domains requires further validation in observational studies and confirmation of relevance from people with gout. Further work is also required in refining measurements of tophus size and imaging scores. The role of a response criteria measure is also yet to be defined, especially in relation to reduction in flare frequency, or whether composite criteria are necessary.