A Controlled Trial of Colchicine in Preventing Attacks of Familial Mediterranean Fever

A four-month, double-blind, crossover study of 22 patients with familial Mediterranean fever was undertaken to study the effect of colchicine in decreasing acute attacks of that disease. The regimen consisted of either 0.5 mg of colchicine or an identical-appearing placebo, twice daily for two months, followed by two additional months of the other treatment. Thus, each patient served as his own control. During the first two months of the study, the colchicine group experienced significantly fewer attacks (mean 1.15 per patient) than the placebo group (mean 5.25 per patient, p < 0.01). The patients who completed the crossover study had significantly fewer attacks on colchicine than on placebo (p < 0.01). The mean decrease in the number of attacks on colchicine was 3.85 for the two-month period. The study confirmed the advantage of colchicine in decreasing acute attacks of familial Mediterranean fever. (N Engl J Med 291:932–934, 1974)