The Efficacy of Colchicine as an Adjunct Therapy in Non-hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial


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Abstract

Background:The therapeutic potential of oral colchicine administration may help combat COVID-19 infection due to reduced disease severity and mortality risk.

Objective:This randomized trial aimed to assess the effect of colchicine treatment on the inflammatory and hematologic markers as well as clinical features in non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease.

Method:In the present placebo-controlled randomized trial, 80 non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients were enrolled and followed for 14 days. Subjects randomly received oral colchicine or placebo tablets once a day for two weeks. The fever and cough clinical signs, as well as Creactive protein (CRP) and lymphopenia, were evaluated through the follow-up.

Results:No significant between-group differences were observed in terms of the duration of clinical symptoms, CRP, and lymphopenia at 0, 7, and 14 days of intervention. Although the proportion of participants with fever, cough, positive CRP, and lymphopenia was higher reduced in the colchicine group than the placebo during treatment, no significant differences were found between groups. Due to no adverse effects detected in this trial, colchicine therapy was well-tolerated and safe.

Conclusion:Our findings revealed that colchicine adjuvant therapy had no beneficial effect on clinical and para-clinical parameters in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients during 14 days of intervention. The present trial does not support colchicine as a potential treatment against COVID-19 disease.

Clinical trial Registration:The present study protocol was approved by the IRCT (IRCT20200408046990N2, https://en.irct.ir/trial/47468).

About the authors

Sepideh Hejazi

Lung Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Science

Email: info@benthamscience.net

Zohreh Jahani

Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Email: info@benthamscience.net

Sepideh Elyasi

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Email: info@benthamscience.net

Davoud Salarbashi

Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences

Email: info@benthamscience.net

Mona Kabiri

Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: info@benthamscience.net

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