Content of the article
An extensive study released by the Montreal Heart Institute last March concluded that the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine may reduce some of the complications associated with COVID-19.
In a press release issued on Friday, the institute described its findings as a “major scientific discovery” that could help millions of COVID-19 patients worldwide.
Colchicine, an inexpensive and easy-to-make oral pill, is already known and used for other diseases. The study evaluated its effects in 4,159 patients with COVID-19.
The patients involved should be over 40 years old and have at least one risk factor for possible complications. The results showed that the drug helped to reduce hospitalizations by a quarter, the need for mechanical ventilation by half and deaths by 44 percent.
The researchers involved believe that colchicine could become the first oral drug to be used to treat patients with out-of-hospital COVID-19.