[Colchicine, an old friend's perspectives for rheumatology in COVID-19: a scoping review].

INTRODUCTION

Colchicine is widely used to treat inflammatory diseases such as gout and Mediterranean fever. Due to its immunomodulatory capacity, it could play an important role in the treatment of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the current available medical evidence, published until 28 December 2020, regarding the efficacy and safety of colchicine in the treatment of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Scoping review of the literature that included PubMed and Scopus. Records of clinical trials and publications with empirical data (observational and experimental studies) in English and Spanish were included.

RESULTS

A total of 33 clinical trials and 6 publications were found: prospective (n = 2) and retrospective (n = 2) cohort studies, randomised clinical trials (n = 1) and case-control studies (n = 1). The total number of participants in the trials is 46,324 individuals, 73% (24/33) of the studies are recruiting participants and 51% (17/33) are phase 3 studies.

CONCLUSIONS

One clinical trial reports a decrease in prognostic inflammatory markers and length of hospital stay in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The ongoing clinical trials will clarify the efficacy and safety of colchicine for the management of patients with COVID-19.