How to use the uric acid target gap calculator
Enter the serum uric acid figure from your lab report in mg/dL and the page shows the gap to the below-6 mg/dL treatment target, to one decimal place. The precision used for the comparison matches the precision shown on screen.
Basis and limits
American College of Rheumatology guidance frames urate-lowering therapy as treat-to-target, with diet as an adjunct when medication is indicated. The description of titrating allopurinol to a serum uric acid below 6 mg/dL comes from a secondary source (as of October 2026). That figure is what a clinician aims for with medication, not a self-assessment cutoff.
This page carries no purine content table. Published values per 100 g for the same food disagree sharply between sources. The groups usually named are organ meats such as liver and tripe, small oily fish and dried fish such as anchovy and sardine, and beer, where yeast purines and alcohol's effect on urate excretion are described as acting together. The page also does not turn purine frequency or alcohol intake into a risk score, because no published weights exist for that. Treatment decisions and drug choice belong to a clinician reading your full results. If a joint swells suddenly and feels hot, seek care.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Below 6 mg/dL is the figure clinicians titrate urate-lowering medication to, and a value under it does not rule gout out. Joint symptoms need review regardless of the number.
Published purine values per 100 g for the same food disagree sharply between sources, so they could not be reduced to one table. The page names food groups instead, without figures.
Guidance treats diet as an adjunct when urate-lowering therapy is indicated. Reaching the target is done by adjusting medication, and that choice belongs to a clinician.