- Question
- Does low-dose colchicine reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with chronic coronary disease?
- Design
- Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial with 5522 patients randomized (2762 to colchicine and 2760 to placebo). Median follow-up was 28.6 months.
- Population
- Patients with chronic coronary disease.
- Intervention
- Colchicine 0.5 mg once daily.
- Control
- Matching placebo once daily.
- Primary outcome
- Composite of cardiovascular death, spontaneous (nonprocedural) myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization.
- Results
- The primary end point occurred in 187 patients (6.8%) in the colchicine group and 264 (9.6%) in the placebo group (HR 0.69; 95% CI 0.57 to 0.83; P<0.001). The key secondary end point (cardiovascular death, spontaneous myocardial infarction, or ischemic stroke) occurred in 115 patients (4.2%) vs. 157 (5.7%) (HR 0.72; 95% CI 0.57 to 0.92; P = 0.007).
- Safety
- Death from noncardiovascular causes was more frequent with colchicine (0.7 vs. 0.5 events per 100 person-years; HR 1.51; 95% CI 0.99 to 2.31).
- Conclusion
- In patients with chronic coronary disease, colchicine 0.5 mg daily significantly lowered the risk of cardiovascular events compared with placebo.
- Why it matters
- It provided evidence that inflammation is a modifiable therapeutic target in stable coronary disease and that a low-cost anti-inflammatory drug can be added to secondary prevention.
Card generated automatically with AI from the abstract of the original publication and the trial registry; every figure was checked against those sources. It may contain errors: verify the data at the source before using it for clinical decisions.
Generated on October 7, 2026