title: Effects of colchicine on pericardial diseases: a review of the literature and current evidence.
abstract: Colchicine, extracted from the colchicum autumnale plant, used by the ancient Greeks more than 20 centuries ago, is one of the most ancient drugs still prescribed even today. The major mechanism of action is binding to microtubules thereby interfering with mitosis and subsequent modulation of polymorphonuclear leukocyte function. Colchicine has long been of interest in the treatment of cardiovascular disease; however, its efficacy and safety profile for specific conditions have been variably established in the literature. In the subset of pericardial diseases, colchicine has been shown to be effective in recurrent pericarditis and post-pericardiotomy syndrome (PPS). The future course of treatment and management will therefore highly depend on the results of the ongoing large randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of colchicine for the primary prevention of several postoperative complications and in the perioperative period. Also, given the positive preliminary outcomes of colchicine usage in pericardial effusions, the future therapeutical use of colchicine looks promising. Further study is needed to clarify its role in these disease states, as well as explore other its role in other cardiovascular conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi, Pakistan; syedraza91shah@live.com.
authors.forename: Syed Raza
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Reading Health System, West Reading, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alweis
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Ziauddin Medical University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Arbab
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Agha Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hussham
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Arshad
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Adil Al-Karim
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Manji
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Arham Amir
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Arfeen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Maheen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Javed
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, The Lyceum, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Muhammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shujauddin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, The Lyceum, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Rida
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Irfan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, The Lyceum, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sakina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shabbir
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Beaconhouse College Campus Defense, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shehryar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shaikh
keywords: Cardiac; Colchicine; Diseases; Pericardial; Pericardium; Review