ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 0013

Colchicine to Weather the Storm in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

Luigi Brunetti1, Oumou Diawara1, Andrew Tsai2, Bonnie Firestein3, Ronald Nahass4, George Poiani5 and Naomi Schlesinger6, 1Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, piscataway, NJ, 2Center of Excellence in Pharmaceutical Translational Research and Education, piscataway, NJ, 3Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, piscataway, NJ, 4Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, somerset, NJ, 5Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, somerset, NJ, 6Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2020

Keywords:

Session Information

Date: Friday, November 6, 2020

Title: Epidemiology & Public Health Poster I: COVID-19 & Rheumatic Disease

Session Type: Poster Session A

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is a global pandemic causing havoc. There is a knowledge gap regarding the use of use of immunomodulation and anti-inflammatories in patients with COVID-19 and the optimal treatment is yet to be defined.  The repurposing of colchicine for the treatment of COVID-19 has been suggested based in its immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties.  

Methods: A single-center propensity score matched cohort study, including all consecutive COVID-19 patients, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to community teaching hospital between March 1, 2020 and May 12, 2020 was performed.  Patients were stratified according to the receipt of colchicine. The primary endpoint was defined as all-cause in-hospital death within  28-day follow-up. 

Results: In total, 50 patients were included in the 1:1 matched  cohort study. The mean age of the total study population was 58.3 years (range: 26 – 90 years), and 24% (n=12) were female. The most prevalent chronic comorbidities included hypertension (54%; n=27), diabetes (40%; n=20), obesity  (46%, n=23), and  chronic pulmonary disease (16%; n=8).  At the end of the 28 day follow-up, patients receiving colchicine were approximately 2 times more likely to be discharged from the hospital (odds ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.63 – 7.1; p=0.225) and when comparing mortality, there were 3 deaths (12%) in patients receiving colchicine  versus 10 deaths (40%) in the groups receiving standard of care  (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.05 – 0.87; p=0.032).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first cohort report using colchicine for the treatment of COVID-19. Treatment with colchicine led to a higher rate of discharge from the hospital and was associated with a decrease in mortality in patients with severe COVID-19.  These observations warrant further investigation in large colchicine controlled clinical trials.

Disclosure: L. Brunetti, CSL Behring, 2, Astellas Pharma, 2, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, 5; O. Diawara, None; A. Tsai, None; B. Firestein, None; R. Nahass, None; G. Poiani, None; N. Schlesinger, Johnson and Johnson, 5, Horizon, 5, IFM, 5, Pfizer, 2, AMGEN, 2.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Brunetti L, Diawara O, Tsai A, Firestein B, Nahass R, Poiani G, Schlesinger N. Colchicine to Weather the Storm in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020; 72 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/colchicine-to-weather-the-storm-in-hospitalized-patients-with-covid-19/. Accessed .

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