European heart journal. Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother · Apr 2015
Review Meta AnalysisEffectiveness of colchicine for the prevention of recurrent pericarditis and post-pericardiotomy syndrome: an updated meta-analysis of randomized clinical data.
The aim of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of colchicine in prevention of recurrence, symptom reduction, and complications in patients with pericarditis. Pericarditis is an important cause of chest pain leading to frequent emergency room visits and reduced quality of life. Pericarditis has traditionally been treated symptomatically with anti-inflammatory drugs, but growing evidence suggests the use of colchicine for both first episode and recurrent pericarditis in the prevention of recurrences and reducing symptoms. ⋯ In addition, colchicine decreased symptom duration in patients with recurrent pericarditis (63.1 vs. 78.6%; RR 0.58; 95% CI 0.39-0.87; P = 0.02; I(2) = 65%), but had no significant effect on symptom duration in patients with an initial episode of pericarditis (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.65-1.28; P = 0.57; I(2) = 0%). Colchicine was superior to placebo in the prevention of PPS at 1 year (13.2 vs. 25.8%, RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.42-0.76; P < 0.01). In this quantitative analysis of randomized clinical data, colchicine demonstrated superior clinical efficacy compared with standard therapy for the prevention of recurrent pericarditis and PPS at the cost of a small increase in the incidence rate of side effects.