An inexpensive drug normally used to treat gout has been found to significantly reduce hospital stays in Covid-19 patients and the need for supplemental oxygen.
The results of new research on colchicine, conducted in Brazil, come after an international study published Wednesday found that hospital admissions and deaths among Covid-19 patients were reduced by more than 20%.
Colchicine, which is used to treat rheumatic diseases, was hailed by researchers as having the potential to be the first oral drug to treat Covid-19 in an outpatient setting in a trial funded by the Quebec government and philanthropists.
The latest trial, funded by foundations and Brazilian authorities, suggested the drug could reduce the body’s inflammatory response and help prevent damage to cells lining blood vessel walls.
“Whatever the mechanism of action … colchicine appears to be beneficial for treating hospital patients with Covid-19,” said a report on the small clinical trial published in the online journal RMD Open, 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 sometimes associated with other drugs used to treat Covid.
Reducing the need for oxygen therapy and length of hospital stay not only benefited patients, but they also reduced health care costs and the need for hospital beds, they added.
However, they also cautioned that only a small number of patients were included in the study and were unable to determine whether colchicine would avoid the need for intensive care or reduce the risk of death.
Brazil has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, as health workers in the country’s largest state are begging for help and oxygen after a surge in Covid infections.
Although colchicine has been used to treat and prevent inflammatory conditions, a hallmark of some Covid infections, the researchers wanted to know if its use could reduce the need for supplemental oxygen or long-term hospital stays.
The study was conducted between April and August last year when 75 patients admitted to the hospital with moderate to severe Covid-19 were randomly assigned to receive varying levels of colchicine.
The results were based on 72 patients. It found that the mean time that patients needed oxygen therapy was four days for those treated with additional colchicine, compared to 6.5 days for those receiving standard treatment.
The mean hospital stay was seven days for the colchicine group, compared to nine for the other group.