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Schattner A. Colchicine - new horizons for an ancient drug. Review based on the highest hierarchy of evidence. Eur J Intern Med 2022; 96:34-41. [PMID: 34657777 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Colchicine is an old, inexpensive, and relatively safe anti-inflammatory drug traditionally used in gout and over the last 50 years in familial Mediterranean fever. A search of all high-hierarchy studies (randomized controlled trials [RCTs], systematic reviews and meta-analysis of RCTs) over the last 20 years revealed myriad other evidence-based applications. Colchicine seems efficacious in the treatment of acute pericarditis and prevention of recurrences and in the prevention of postcardiac injury syndrome and atrial fibrillation following cardiac surgery or percutaneous interventions. In patients already fully treated with statins and antiplatelet agents following acute coronary syndromes or stable coronary disease, adding low-dose colchicine achieved secondary prevention of major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death) with pooled risk reduction 0.75. Colchicine may also be useful in Behcet's syndrome and most recently, in improving outcomes of COVID-19 infection. Colchicine in the low doses used in most trials (≤ 1 mg/d) was generally safe and well-tolerated, excepting diarrhea (approximately 10%) which sometimes led to drug discontinuation. Further RCTs are required to confirm these results, and will likely lead to expanding indications for low-dose colchicine. Increasing numbers of patients will be treated with colchicine in the near future, with improved health outcomes, as long as basic caveats are heeded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami Schattner
- The Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
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Gholoobi A, Askari VR, Naghedinia H, Ahmadi M, Vakili V, Baradaran Rahimi V. Colchicine effectively attenuates inflammatory biomarker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Inflammopharmacology 2021; 29:1379-1387. [PMID: 34420187 DOI: 10.1007/s10787-021-00865-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation (NSTEMI) is considered an inflammatory disorder associated with a high mortality rate worldwide. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is an important inflammatory marker for NSTEMI and related to cardiovascular events. Colchicine, as a potent anti-inflammatory drug, is frequently prescribed for the treatment of gout and pericarditis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of colchicine, as an anti-inflammatory drug, on hs-CRP levels in NSTEMI patients. We performed a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 150 NSTEMI patients referred to Imam Reza and Ghaem Hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The patients were randomised to receive colchicine or placebo along with optimal medications for 30 days. The hs-CRP was measured at the admission and end of the study. Our results revealed that, in both colchicine and placebo groups, hs-CRP levels were significantly mitigated in NSTEMI patients compared to baseline (P < 0.001). However, the decreasing properties of colchicine on hs-CRP levels were remarkably stronger than placebo following the 30 days of treatment (P < 0.001). Nevertheless, neither colchicine nor placebo treatment could achieve hs-CRP levels lower than 2 mg/L. There were no significant differences between the effects of colchicine on the hs-CRP decrease in diabetic and non-diabetic, male and female, and normal and preserved LVEF NSTEMI patients. It can be concluded that colchicine may prevent the disease progression and succedent cardiovascular events in NSTEMI patients by attenuating the inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arash Gholoobi
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Vahid Reza Askari
- Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Persian Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Hossein Naghedinia
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mostafa Ahmadi
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Vida Vakili
- Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Vafa Baradaran Rahimi
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. .,Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
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