Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Dec 30;19(12):e0316126.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316126. eCollection 2024.

Colchicine combination therapy increases treatment tolerance in patients with arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Changwei Zhao  1   2 , Xiaogang Hao  2 , Wenjun Cai  3 , Ling-Feng Zeng  4 , Wenhai Zhao  2 , Xiangxin Li  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Colchicine combination therapy increases treatment tolerance in patients with arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Changwei Zhao et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Arthritis seriously affects people's quality of life, and there is an urgent clinical need to improve the efficacy of medications as well as to reduce the adverse effects induced by treatment. Combined colchicine therapy is gradually being embraced in clinical care, but the evidence remains insufficient.

Methods: English databases were searched from the establishment to September 4, 2024. Eleven eligible Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The quality of the literature was assessed by the risk of bias tool in the Cochrane Handbook. Relative risk (RR) and Cohen's d (SMD) were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively, at 95% confidence interval (CI), and Stata 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Sensitivity analyses were used to verify the stability of the analyzed results, and heterogeneity analyses were used to explore the sources of heterogeneity in the studies. Funnel plots and Egger's test were used to assess publication bias.

Results: Eleven eligible RCTs were included in this study. Compared with conventional treatment, combined colchicine treatment improved patient's global assessment results (SMD = 1.24, 95% CI [0.01, 2.47], P = 0.05, I2 = 0]), stiffness (SMD = -0.81, 95% CI [-1.43, -0.19], P = 0.01, I2 = 63.91%]) and did not increase adverse effects (RR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.31, 1.27], P = 0.36, I2 = 0.00%). However, combined colchicine treatment did not improve visual analog scores (VAS) (SMD = -0.96, 95% CI [-2.85, 0.93], P = 0.13, I2 = 97.99%]), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain (SMD = 0.01, 95% CI [-0.24, 0.27], P = 0.91, I2 = 0]), WOMAC function (SMD = -0.01, 95% CI [-0.36, 0.16], P = 0.44, I2 = 0]), Total WOMAC scale (SMD = -0.05, 95% CI [-0.33, 0.22], P = 0.70, I2 = 0]), physician 's global assessment (SMD = 0.36, 95% CI [-2.27, 3.00], P = 0.79, I2 = 97.04%]) and Modified Clinical Health Assessment Questionnaire (ModHAD) (SMD = -1.72, 95% CI [-4.90,1.45], P = 0.29, I2 = 99.11%]).

Conclusion: Compared with colchicine alone, combination therapy improves patients' quality of life without increasing the incidence of adverse events.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests, 作者声明他们没有竞争利益.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flowchart of study selection and identification.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The risk of bias of 11 RCTs.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Comparison of VAS score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Comparison of WOMAC pain score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Comparison of WOMAC function score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Comparison of total WOMAC scale score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Comparison of physician’s global assessment score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Comparison of patient’s global assessment score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 9
Fig 9. Comparison of ModHAQ score between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 10
Fig 10. Comparison of stiffness between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
Fig 11
Fig 11. Comparison of adverse events between the colchicine group and the non-colchicine group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tang CH. Research of Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Arthritis 3.0. International journal of molecular sciences. 2023;24(12). Epub 2023/06/28. doi: 10.3390/ijms241210166 . - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Glyn-Jones S, Palmer AJ, Agricola R, Price AJ, Vincent TL, Weinans H, et al. Osteoarthritis. Lancet (London, England). 2015;386(9991):376–87. Epub 2015/03/10. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60802-3 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bessis N, Decker P, Assier E, Semerano L, Boissier MC. Arthritis models: usefulness and interpretation. Seminars in immunopathology. 2017;39(4):469–86. Epub 2017/03/30. doi: 10.1007/s00281-017-0622-4 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Safiri S, Kolahi AA, Smith E, Hill C, Bettampadi D, Mansournia MA, et al. Global, regional and national burden of osteoarthritis 1990–2017: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Annals of the rheumatic diseases. 2020;79(6):819–28. Epub 2020/05/14. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216515 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yang L, Liu X, Jiang Y, Kang L, Ma L. Prevalence and risk factors of gout in China. J Med Res. 2019;48(12):4–6+10. doi: 10.11969/j.issn.1673-548X.2019.12.002 - DOI

MeSH terms