Colchicine: an effective treatment for refractory malignant pericardial effusion.
We report a patient with AL amyloidosis and chemo-resistant light-chain multiple myeloma who developed a progressive malignant pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade. Despite pericardiocentesis and surgical intervention, the pericardial effusion failed to resolve. The administration of oral colchicine produced symptomatic relief within 5 days, with the resolution of pericardial effusion after 14 days of treatment. As the administration of colchicine is simple and the side-effect is usually minimal, further studies are warranted to establish the feasibility of using colchicine to treat malignant pericardial effusion.
Department of Haematological Medicine, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK. tsfng@hotmail.com
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D000328:Adult; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000150:complications; D002305:Cardiac Tamponade / Q000209:etiology; D003078:Colchicine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000150:complications; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology
D003078:Colchicine