An extensive study launched by the Montreal Heart Institute last March has concluded the anti-inflammatory medication colchicine can reduce some of the complications associated with COVID-19.
In a news release issued Friday, the institute described its findings as a “major scientific discovery” that could help millions of COVID-19 patients around the world.
Colchicine, an oral tablet that’s inexpensive and easy to make, is already known and used for other diseases. The study looked at its effects on 4,159 COVID-19 patients.
Patients involved needed to be over the age of 40 and have at least one risk factor for possible complications. The results showed the medication helped reduce hospitalizations by a quarter, the need for mechanical ventilation by half and deaths by 44 per cent.
Researchers involved believe colchicine could become the first oral medication to be used to treat non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
In a statement, Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the MHI Research Center, said the medication could have a “significant impact on public health and potentially prevent COVID-19 complications for millions of patients.”
The institute said prescribing colchicine to patients could also help lower the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 and “reduce healthcare costs here and around the world.”
Called “COLCORONA,” the clinical trial was conducted in Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and South Africa.
The institute had received a $3-million grant to fund the trial in May.
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