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A cheap drug typically used to treat gout has been found to have the potential to significantly reduce hospital stays among Covid-19 patients and the need for additional oxygen.
The results of new research on colchicine conducted in Brazil come after an international trial published on Wednesday found it reduced hospitalizations and deaths among Covid-19 patients by more than 20 percent.
Colchicine, which is used to treat rheumatic diseases, was hailed by researchers for having the potential to be the first oral drug to treat Covid-19 in outpatient settings in a trial funded by the Quebec government and philanthropists.
The latest trial, funded by Brazilian foundations and authorities, suggested that the drug could decrease the body’s inflammatory response and help prevent damage to the cells that line the walls of blood vessels.
“Whatever the mechanism of action … colchicine appears to be beneficial for the treatment of hospitalized patients with Covid-19,” according to a report from the small clinical trial which appeared in the online journal RMD Open, which is published by the British Medical Journal.
The researchers added that it was not associated with serious side effects, such as heart or liver damage or suppression of the immune system, factors that have sometimes been linked to some other drugs used to treat Covid.
The reductions in the need for oxygen therapy and the length of hospital stay were not only good for patients, but also reduced health care costs and the need for hospital beds, they added.
But they also expressed caution that only a small number of patients were included in the trial and they were unable to determine whether colchicine could prevent the need for intensive care or lower the risk of death.
Brazil has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, while health workers in the country’s largest state have called for help and oxygen supplies after a sharp increase in Covid infections.
The research took place between April and August last year, when 75 patients admitted to the hospital with moderate to severe Covid-19 were randomly assigned to receive different levels of colchicine.
The results were based on 72 patients. The median time patients required oxygen therapy was found to be four days for those treated with additional colchicine, compared with 6.5 days for those receiving a standard type of treatment.
The mean length of hospital stay was seven days for the colchicine group compared to nine for the other group. – Guardian
