Gout Drug May Cut Mortality in Heart Failure Hospitalizations

WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with an acute heart failure exacerbation, treatment with colchicine for a gout flare is associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality, according to a study published online April 28 in Clinical Cardiology.

Mary E. Roth, Pharm.D., from the University of Virginia Health in Charlottesville, and colleagues used data for 1,047 patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (March 2011 to December 2020) to assess clinical outcomes for those treated with colchicine for a gout flare compared to those who did not experience a gout flare or receive colchicine.

The researchers found that 22.7 percent of encounters included patients who also received colchicine for acute gout during admission. In the colchicine group, in-hospital, all-cause mortality was significantly lower versus the control group (2.1 versus 6.5 percent). However, the colchicine group had increased length of stay (9.93 versus 7.96 days) and no significant difference in 30-day readmissions (21.5 versus 19.5 percent). When adjusting for age, inpatient colchicine use was associated with improved survival to discharge (hazard ratio, 0.163) and a reduced rate of in-hospital cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio, 0.184).

"These results highlight the importance of novel inflammatory mechanisms in heart failure," a coauthor said in a statement. "The signal for benefit with colchicine in these patients was very impressive, and I expect that these findings will have quite a significant impact on clinical care in heart failure and future research for patients with this condition."

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