Colchicine for the Prevention of Myocardial Injury Following Elective PCI: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Considering the potential benefits of colchicine in coronary artery diseases, we aimed to carry out the present study to assess the impact of colchicine in the prevention of myocardial injury following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: A randomized, single-blinded, clinical trial was carried out on 102 patients undergoing elective PCI. All patients received the standard treatment prior to performing PCI. Moreover, the intervention group received 1, 0.5, 0.5 mg colchicine 12 to 18 hours before, 30-60 min before, and 12 hours after PCI, respectively. Serum concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were measured before, 8, and 24 hours after the procedure to assess myocardial damage during PCI.

Results: There were no significant differences in cTnI levels at baseline (P = 0.839), 8 (P = 0.729), and 24 hours (P = 0.398) after PCI between the intervention and the control groups. Likewise, no significant differences were seen regarding the mean differences of cTnI at baseline and 8 hours (P =0.190), at baseline and 24 hours (P = 0.780), and 8 and 24 hours after PCI (P = 0.680) in both groups.

Conclusion: The study did not support the potential benefit of colchicine in the prevention of myocardial injury following elective PCI. Conducting well-designed randomized clinical trials with adequate sample size is recommended.