Taken by mouth, colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug, drastically reduces the most serious manifestations of covid-19: this is the conclusion of a large study published this Saturday by the Montreal Heart Institute.
“A major scientific discovery”
According to the authors of this clinical study conducted on nearly 4,500 patients, colchicine reduces the risk of complications related to the disease.
The positive results of the Colcorona study constitute in this respect “a major scientific discovery”, which makes colchicine – a powerful anti-inflammatory drug used for the treatment of gout – “the first oral drug in the world that could treat patients. in the prehospital phase, “says the ICM in its press release.
A very enthusiastic press release, but the study itself is not yet public. It will be important to observe whether these promising results are confirmed, and under what conditions.
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In the meantime, “we are pleased to offer the world’s first oral drug whose use could have a significant impact on public health and potentially prevent complications from Covid-19 in millions of patients,” said Dr Jean -Claude Tardif, director of the ICM Research Center and principal investigator of the study
A “contactless” study
The COLCORONA study was conducted “without contact”, among patients with covid-19 who were not hospitalized at the time of inclusion, with at least one risk factor for complications.
“This is the largest study in the world testing a drug administered orally in non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19”, further clarified the ICM.
The study, conducted in Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and South Africa, involved 4488 patients.
In 4,159 of them – whose diagnosis of covid-19 was proven by a PCR test – colchicine “led to reductions in hospitalizations by 25%, the need for mechanical ventilation by 50%, and deaths by 44%. “, assures the institute.
Against the inflammatory storm
According to the ICM, treatment with colchicine is effective in preventing the phenomenon of “major inflammatory storm” and reducing the risk of complications related to covid-19, explained according to Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif.
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