RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Association between treatment with colchicine and improved survival in a single-centre cohort of adult hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 1286
OP 1289
DO 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217712
VO 79
IS 10
A1 Mirko Scarsi
A1 Silvia Piantoni
A1 Enrico Colombo
A1 Paolo Airó
A1 Donata Richini
A1 Marco Miclini
A1 Valeria Bertasi
A1 Marta Bianchi
A1 Damiano Bottone
A1 Patrizia Civelli
A1 Maria-Sofia Cotelli
A1 Ezio Damiolini
A1 Gloria Galbassini
A1 Diego Gatta
A1 Maria-Laura Ghirardelli
A1 Roberto Magri
A1 Paola Malamani
A1 Monia Mendeni
A1 Stefano Molinari
A1 Andrea Morotti
A1 Luisa Salada
A1 Marinella Turla
A1 Angiola Vender
A1 Angela Tincani
A1 Antonio Brucato
A1 Franco Franceschini
A1 Roberto Furloni
A1 Laura Andreoli
YR 2020
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/79/10/1286.abstract
AB Objectives The outbreak of COVID-19 posed the issue of urgently identifying treatment strategies. Colchicine was considered for this purpose based on well-recognised anti-inflammatory effects and potential antiviral properties. In the present study, colchicine was proposed to patients with COVID-19, and its effects compared with ‘standard-of-care’ (SoC).Methods In the public hospital of Esine, northern Italy, 140 consecutive inpatients, with virologically and radiographically confirmed COVID-19 admitted in the period 5–19 March 2020, were treated with ‘SoC’ (hydroxychloroquine and/or intravenous dexamethasone; and/or lopinavir/ritonavir). They were compared with 122 consecutive inpatients, admitted between 19 March and 5 April 2020, treated with colchicine (1 mg/day) and SoC (antiviral drugs were stopped before colchicine, due to potential interaction).Results Patients treated with colchicine had a better survival rate as compared with SoC at 21 days of follow-up (84.2% (SE=3.3%) vs 63.6% (SE=4.1%), p=0.001). Cox proportional hazards regression survival analysis showed that a lower risk of death was independently associated with colchicine treatment (HR=0.151 (95% CI 0.062 to 0.368), p<0.0001), whereas older age, worse PaO2/FiO2, and higher serum levels of ferritin at entry were associated with a higher risk.Conclusion This proof-of-concept study may support the rationale of use of colchicine for the treatment of COVID-19. Efficacy and safety must be determined in controlled clinical trials.