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MONTREAL: A major clinical trial shows an inflammatory drug called colchicine is effective in treating Covid-19 and reduces the risk of complications from the disease, doctors in Canada have said.
Study results are a “major scientific discovery” and make colchicine – a drug used to treat gout – “the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat outpatients with Covid-19” , the Montreal Heart Institute said in a report.
The results of the study show that colchicine reduces the risk of death or hospitalization in patients with Covid-19 by 21% compared to placebo, the institute said.
The study was conducted in Canada, the United States, Europe and South America with a population of 4,488 patients.
In 4,159 of these patients, in whom the diagnosis of Covid-19 was proven by a nasopharyngeal PCR test, the use of colchicine reduced hospitalizations by 25%, the need for mechanical ventilation by 50% and deaths. 44%, the study concludes.
Colchicine is effective in preventing dangerous inflammatory syndromes called ‘cytokine storms’ and reducing complications associated with Covid-19, said Dr Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the MHI Research Center and principal investigator in this study.
“We are pleased to offer the world’s first oral drug whose use could have a significant impact on public health and potentially prevent complications from Covid-19 for millions of patients,” Tardif said.
Posted in Dawn, January 24, 2021
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