The association between colchicine and hypertension risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To assess the effects of colchicine as a treatment option for gut and other autoimmune diseases with respect to the risk of hypertension, as compared to both placebos and active comparators. Design and method: Various relevant meta-analyses and systematic reviews of randomised-control trials (RCTs) were identified using relevant electronic databases such as MEDLINE Ovid, EMBASE Ovid, and CENTRAL to assess current approaches towards the analysis of the effects of colchicine in adult patients with respect to hypertension risk. Results: Just four trials were identified, including 899 patients across the qualitative and quantitative studies synthesised for this final review. Two of these compared colchicine to a placebo and three compared it to other active drugs. The risk of hypertension was not found to be significantly different between colchicine and the placebo (RR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.10; 2.38, P = 0.38), and no heterogeneity was observed between studies (I2 = 0%, P = 0.96). When colchicine was compared to other active drugs, no statistically significant difference was observed in the risk of hypertension (RR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.09; 2.11, P = 0.31). Low heterogeneity was also observed between studies (I2 = 35%, P = 0.21). Only three events occurred in patients who received Colchicine (1.7%), as compared to the 25 events observed in patients who received other active drugs (5.5%), suggesting a lower risk of hypertension in cases applying colchicine Conclusions: The final results of this meta-analysis based on the hypothesis that colchicine does not cause any changes in blood pressure, thus presenting no additional risk of hypertension, was when not rejected, based on comparisons to both the placebo and other active drug groups.