A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the slow‐acting symptom‐modifying effects of colchicine in osteoarthritis of the knee: A preliminary report

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Abstract
Objective To determine if colchicine added to nimesulide may have a beneficial effect on osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Methods Colchicine 0.5 mg twice daily or placebo was added to nimesulide (a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug) in 36 patients with OA of the knee in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial over a 5‐month period. Results The 30% improvement rate at 20 weeks was higher in the colchicine group than in the control group receiving placebo, as measured by total Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis scores (57.9% versus 23.5%) and visual analog scale for index knee pain (52.6% versus 17.6%) (primary measures of response). The significance persisted on combined analysis by Mantel‐Haenszel test (P = 0.062). Comparison of means also showed significant improvement in the colchicine group versus the control group in a multivariate analysis performed using T2 test (P = 0.0115). Conclusion Among patients with OA of the knee, the group receiving colchicine plus nimesulide exhibited significantly greater symptomatic benefit at 20 weeks than did the control group receiving nimesulide plus placebo.