Procedures
tophi, gout, TG, pain
ADVERSE EVENT, NEPHROLITHIASIS, INSULIN RESISTANCE, BLOOD, GOUT, GOUT FLARE
All participants were required to undergo a 14-day washout period to withdraw any drug with urate-lowering potential and follow a low-purine diet before baseline data was collected. The random number creator was used to generate a randomization list for those eligible participants, who were 1:1:1 randomly assigned to the sodium bicarbonate group (sodium bicarbonate 1 g, three times a day), the citrate mixture group (citrate mixture: citric acid 50%, sodium citrate 10%, potassium citrate 10%, sodium carbonate 20% and excipient 10%, 3.5 g, twice a day) or the TaCCi mixture group (TaCCi mixture: tart cherry powder 25%, citric acid 30%, sodium citrate 2%, potassium citrate 2%, sodium carbonate 30% and excipient 11%, 3.5 g, twice a day). All participants started ULT with febuxostat (initially 20 mg daily, escalating to 40 mg daily if sUA ≥ 360 μmol/L at first follow-up). Colchicine or other gout flare prophylaxis drugs were not eligible in the trial protocol, while etoricoxib 120 mg once a day for 3–5 days would be prescribed for patients who experienced gout flare during the study. Participants were followed every 4 weeks at a face-to-face visit until week 12.Demographic and medical history data were acquired at the baseline visit, including age, nephrolithiasis, tophi, smoking, and drinking history. Blood and urine parameters including sUA, triglycerides (TG), TC, FBG, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) [Adverse events were monitored and managed during the study period. Gout flare was defined as a patient-reported flare with pain VAS score > 3 of 0–10 scale [