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A new international trial will examine whether a common anti-inflammatory drug known as colchicine could ward off COVID-19 symptoms and potentially prevent the need for hospitalization for some patients.
The study, which has the University of California-San Francisco and New York University School of Medicine as its first two clinical test sites, aims to enroll 6,000 newly diagnosed patients over age 40 and with at least one additional risk factor for serious COVID-19 complications, such as chronic pulmonary disease, heart disease, or age greater than 70 years.
“This is one of the very few COVID-19 trials designed specifically for patients who have not yet been hospitalized,” said Priscilla Hsue, a professor of medicine at UCSF and principal investigator for the UCSF study site, in a statement. “We suspect that early treatment, before the onset of severe symptoms requiring hospitalization, may provide the best chance to improve outcomes. By the time extensive lung damage has developed, it may be too late to intervene successfully.”
Colchicine, which is inexpensive and widely available, has been prescribed for many years to treat gout by reducing joint pain and swelling, according to researchers.