Pericarditis

ESC: Colchicine Effective in Acute Pericarditis

Published: Sep 1, 2013 | Updated: Sep 1, 2013

By Ed Susman , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

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Action Points

• The anti-inflammatory agent colchicine, used mostly in the treatment of gout, appears to be effective for treating acute pericarditis and in preventing recurrences of the condition, a study found.
• Note that treatment with colchicine also did not result in a significant increase in adverse events compared with placebo.

AMSTERDAM -- The anti-inflammatory agent colchicine -- used mostly in the treatment of gout -- appears to be effective for treating acute pericarditis and in preventing recurrences of the condition, researchers reported here.

A total of 16.7% of 120 patients treated with colchicine experienced incessant or recurrent pericarditis, compared with 37.5% of the 120 patients assigned to placebo
"In patients with acute pericarditis, colchicine, when added to conventional anti-inflammatory therapy of aspirin or ibuprofen, significantly reduced the rate of incessant or recurrent pericarditis over an 18-month period," he reported at the annual meeting of the acute pericarditis and in preventing recurrences of the condition, researchers reported here./.../