Colchicine belongs to a class of drugs known as anti-gout drugs. Colchicine is used to prevent or treat attacks of gout (also called gouty arthritis).
Gout is characterized by sudden, intense pain at the joints, and this is due to elevated levels of uric acid from blood vessels. An attack of gout occurs when uric acid causes inflammation (pain, swelling, redness, and heat) at a joint. Colchicine doesn’t cure gout, but it is going to help prevent gout attacks. Colchicine isn’t an ordinary pain reliever and won’t alleviate many types of pain.
It can also be utilized to treat a rare disease known as familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in adults and children older than four decades old.
Colchicine Uses
It can be utilized to handle conditions Aside from gout, for example:
- Dermatitis herpetiformis
- Amyloidosis
- Biliary and hepatic cirrhosis
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Paget’s disease
- Behcet’s disease
- Pericarditis
- Pseudogout
Mechanism of Action
While colchicine has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, its effectiveness in treating pain aside from gout is constrained. Colchicine isn’t considered an analgesic (pain relieving) and does nothing to change elevated uric acid amounts related to gout.
Colchicine works by binding to a sort of white blood cell referred to as a neutrophil. By doing this, the cells cannot migrate to regions where uric acid crystals have collected. This tempers the inflammatory reaction and, with it, a lot of the pain.
Colchicine in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Colchicine is an FDA Pregnancy Category C drug, which means injury to an unborn baby can not be ruled out. You need to tell your doctor if you’re pregnant or intend to become pregnant while taking this medication.
It is also not known if this drug enters breastfeeding or if it may damage a breastfeeding infant.
Side effects
The most Frequent side effects of colchicine are dose-related and comprise:
- Nausea,
- Vomiting,
- stomach and abdominal pain, and
- Infection.
- fever, chills, body aches, flu
- Colchicine can also
- trigger baldness,
- weakness, and
- pale or gray lips, tongue, or hands
- Nerve irritation.
Serious side effects may include:
- Rhabdomyolysis (muscle damage)
Warnings
Before taking colchicine, you should tell your doctor if you’ve had or have ever had:
- Crohn’s disease
- Any severe gastrointestinal problem
- Heart disease
- A blood disorder
- Liver disease
- Ulcer in the stomach
- Kidney disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Intestinal bleeding
Interactions
Some medications can cause undesirable or harmful effects when combined with colchicine, particularly in the event that you have kidney or liver disease. Your Physician Might Need to change your treatment program if you use some of the following medications:
- Nefazodone;
- Tipranavir;
- Clarithromycin or telithromycin;
- Cyclosporine;
- Itraconazole or ketoconazole; or
- Atazanavir,
- Darunavir,
- Fosamprenavir,
- Indinavir,
- Lopinavir,
- Nelfinavir,
- Ritonavir, or saquinavir.
To Be Sure this drug is secure for you, tell your Physician if you have:
- Kidney disease
- Liver disorder
- If you take digoxin or cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Dose
The suggested dose for acute gout is:
- 1.2 mg at the first sign of symptoms, accompanied by 0.6 mg an hour after.
- The maximum dose of more than a 1-hour interval is 1.8 mg.
- In clinical trials, 1.8 milligrams of colchicine administered over 1 hour has been as influential as 4.8 mg administered for more than six months, and patients experienced fewer side effects.
- The suggested dose for preventing the consequences of gout in people older than 16 decades old is 0.6 mg twice or once per day.
- Total daily doses could be administered in 2 divided doses. Doses should be increased by 0.3 mg per day as tolerated until symptoms have been controlled or the highest daily doses have been attained. Doses must be decreased by 0.3 mg per day should side effects occur.