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

Abstract Background The 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. Methods The 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. Results A 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]. Conclusions Febuxostat (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.