Key result
Perioperative colchicine is linked to a ~1-day shorter ICU stay after valvular heart surgery.
Why the study?
The association of perioperative colchicine use with postoperative morbidity and inflammation in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass has not been well studied.
Does perioperative colchicine reduce postoperative morbidity and inflammation in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass?
Cohort (n=82)
Does perioperative colchicine reduce postoperative morbidity and inflammation in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass?
Perioperative colchicine use in valvular heart surgery is associated with a reduced requirement for fresh frozen plasma transfusions, but it did not significantly alter measured postoperative inflammatory parameters.
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“This retrospective study investigates the association between perioperative colchicine administration and postoperative morbidity after valvular heart surgery. The topic is clinically relevant; however, substantial methodological limitations currently prevent reliable interpretation of the reported associations.”
“The non-contemporaneous control design remains the major limitation. The control group was treated in 2021–2022, whereas the colchicine group was treated in 2024–2025. Changes over this interval in surgical practice, transfusion thresholds, ICU management, blood conservation, and postoperative care could directly affect both principal findings—FFP use and ICU stay.”
“Excluding patients with mortality, prolonged ventilation, mechanical support, or severe organ failure introduces substantial selection bias by removing precisely those patients with the greatest postoperative morbidity.”
Colchicine was associated with shorter ICU stay and lower FFP use after valve surgery; leaves open any clinical role pending prospective trials.
Background and Objectives: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and valve replacement surgery performed under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with full sternotomy remains an important treatment modality. Colchicine has well-established anti-inflammatory effects in ischemic heart disease and pericardial disease, but its association with postoperative morbidity in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery has not been well studied. This study aimed to investigate the association of perioperative colchicine use with clinical morbidity and inflammatory parameters in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery with CPB. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 82 patients who underwent elective on-pump valvular heart surgery through full sternotomy were divided into a control group (n = 42) who did not receive colchicine and a colchicine group (n = 40) who received oral colchicine (0.5 mg once daily) for three days before and ten days after surgery. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data, including length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay, transfusion requirements, sternal wound complication, surgical re-exploration, and inflammatory parameters on postoperative day 5 (C-reactive protein [CRP], white blood cell count, albumin, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR], and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR]), were compared between the groups. Results: Length of ICU stay was significantly shorter in the colchicine group than in the control group (4.1 ± 1.6 vs. 5.3 ± 2.4 days; p = 0.009), and fresh frozen plasma transfusion requirement was significantly lower in the colchicine group (4.2 ± 2.1 vs. 6.9 ± 3.3 units; p < 0.001). Total hospital stay, erythrocyte transfusion requirement, and inflammatory parameters (CRP, white blood cell count, NLR, PLR, and albumin) did not differ significantly between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Perioperative colchicine was associated with a shorter ICU stay and a reduced requirement for fresh frozen plasma transfusion in patients undergoing valvular heart surgery with CPB, suggesting that colchicine may have a potential role in this surgical population. After correction for multiple comparisons, the difference in ICU length of stay was no longer statistically significant. Larger prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
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Gülcan et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Valvular heart disease (n=82). Perioperative colchicine vs. No colchicine was evaluated on Length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay in days (p=0.009). Perioperative colchicine use during valvular heart surgery was associated with a shorter ICU stay (4.1 vs. 5.3 days; p=0.009) and lower fresh frozen plasma transfusion requirements.
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