@article{3161332,
    title = "Colchicine for prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrence after
pulmonary vein isolation: Mid-term efficacy and effect on quality of
life",
    author = "Deftereos, Spyridon and Giannopoulos, Georgios and Efremidis, Michael and and Kossyvakis, Charalampos and Katsivas, Apostolos and Panagopoulou, and Vasiliki and Papadimitriou, Charalampos and Karageorgiou, Sofia and and Doudoumis, Konstantinos and Raisakis, Konstantinos and Kaoukis, Andreas and and Alexopoulos, Dimitrios and Manolis, Antonis S. and Stefanadis, and Christodoulos and Cleman, Michael W.",
    journal = "Heart Rhythm",
    year = "2014",
    volume = "11",
    number = "4",
    pages = "620-628",
    publisher = "EXCERPTA MEDICA INC-ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC",
    issn = "1547-5271",
    doi = "10.1016/j.hrthm.2014.02.002",
    keywords = "Atrial fibrillation; Colchicine; Inflammation; Antiinflammatory;
Interleukin-6; C-reactive protein",
    abstract = "BACKGROUND Our group previously showed that colchicine treatment is
associated with decreased early recurrence rate after ablation for
atrial fibrillation (AF).
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to test the mid-term efficacy of
colchicine in reducing AF recurrences after a single procedure of
pulmonary vein isolation in patients with paroxysmal AF. Assessment of
quality-of-life (QOL) changes was a secondary objective.
METHODS Patients with paroxysmal AF who were scheduled for ablation were
randomized to a 3-month course of colchicine 0.5 mg twice daily or
placebo and were followed for a median of 15 months (with a 3-month
blanking period). QOL was assessed with a general-purpose health-related
QOL tool (26-item World Health Organization QOL questionnaire) at
baseline and after 3 and 12 months.
RESULTS Two hundred twenty-three randomized patients underwent ablation,
and 206 patients were available for analysis (144 male, age 62.2 +/- 5.8
years). AF recurrence rate in the colchicine group was 31.1% (32/103)
vs 49.5% (51/103) in the control group (P = .010), translated in a
relative risk reduction of 37% (odds ratio 0.46, 95% confidence
interval 0.26-0.81). The number needed to treat was 6 (95% confidence
interval 3.2-19.8). Physical domain QOL scores at 12 months were 63.6
+/- 13.8 in the colchicine group and 52.5 +/- 18.1 in controls, whereas
psychological domain scores were 56.1 +/- 13.7 vs 44.7 +/- 17.3,
respectively (P < .001, for both).
CONCLUSION Colchicine treatment after pulmonary vein isolation for
paroxysmal AF is associated with lower AF recurrence rates after a
single procedure. This reduction is accompanied by corresponding
improvements in physical and psychological health-related QOL scores."
}