Gout drug colchicine doesn’t reduce risk of death in COVID-19 patients: analysis – CTV
November 23, 2021
NORTH BAY — A new analysis of the gout drug colchicine has found no evidence that it lessens the severity of COVID-19 or cuts the risk of death from infection in hospitalized patients.
In turn, the analysis found the drug is associated with a high risk of side effects, namely diarrhea.
The analysis, published in the open access journal RMD Open, looked at available evidence for the use of colchicine, a cheap anti-inflammatory drug normally used to treat gout, to treat COVID-19.
Early observational studies had suggested colchicine may be a useful addition to available COVID-19 treatments, a news release said Monday. The researchers looked through research databases for relevant comparative clinical trial data on the use of the drug for the treatment of COVID-19 published up to July 2021 to clarify its safety and effectiveness.
