Gout is a recurrent chronic inflammatory disease caused by monosodium urate (MSU) crystal . Acute gouty arthritis (GA) is the most common first symptom of gout. With the progress of the disease, the frequency of acute attack increases, and joint destruction may occur. The prevalence of hyperuricemia in China was about 13.3%, and the pooled prevalence of gout was 1.1%. Repeated attacks of GA seriously affect the quality of life, resulting in huge economic costs and mental stress. Due to inadequate prevention and treatment, the target of healing gout is often not achieved. In GA, TCM has shown satisfactory therapeutic effect with less adverse effects and minimal toxicity. Huzhang granule (HZG), a Chinese herbal prescription, is a compound preparation with twelve ingredients which has been used in the clinical treatment of gout for over 30 years at the Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM.Therefore，this double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. will provide high-quality clinical evidences for evaluating the clinical efficacy, safety and control of recurrence rate of Huzhang granule ，a representative prescription for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis , in the treatment of GA.
We designed this study as a double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. The aim of the study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety and control of recurrence rate of acute gouty arthritis