1. POPE-2
Trial design: Patients with moderate to large pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery were randomized to colchicine 2 mg loading dose, then 1 mg daily (n = 98) vs. placebo (n = 99) for 14 days. Patients <70 kg received colchicine 1 mg daily without a loading dose.
Results
(p = 0.80)
Initial mean pericardial effusion grade was 3.0 for colchicine vs. 2.9 for placebo (grade 1 = small, grade 4 = large)
Pericardial effusion grade decreased by 1.3 points in the colchicine group vs. 1.1 points in the placebo group (p = 0.23)
At 14 days, six cases of tamponade occurred in the colchicine group vs. seven cases in the placebo group (p = 0.80)
Cases 7 6
Conclusions
Among patients with moderate to large pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery, colchicine did not improve pericardial effusion grade or the incidence of tamponade
Colchicine
Placebo
Meurin P, et al. Heart 2015;101:1711-6