Reply to Dr. Lai regarding Allopurinol Hypersensitivity Syndrome in patients of Asian ancestry.

We thank Dr Lai for their interest in our study (1). While we did not show a statistically significant link between the use of allopurinol and mortality in people with gout, we agree that Allopurinol Hypersensitivity Syndrome (AHS) is the most serious side-effect of allopurinol, particularly in populations with South East Asian ancestry, leading to the recommendation to screen people of South East Asian descent for the HLA-B*5801 allele prior to starting treatment with allopurinol (2,3).