COlchicine for Left VEntricular Remodeling Treatment in Acute Myocardial Infarction (COVERT-MI)

COlchicine for Left VEntricular Remodeling Treatment in Acute Myocardial Infarction, a Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

Inflammatory processes have been identified as key mediators of ischemia/ reperfusion injury in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. They add additional damage to the myocardium and are associated with clinical adverse events (heart failure and cardiovascular death) and poor myocardial recovery. All the different anti-inflammatory approaches to reduce reperfusion injury have been disappointing.

Colchicine is a well-known substance with potent anti-inflammatory properties. In a recent pilot study performed in 151 acute STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention(PPCI) Deftereos et al. showed a 50% reduction of infarct size (creatine kinase release) with a short course treatment of colchicine in comparison to placebo.

One mechanism to explain this effect could be the reduction of adverse left ventricular (LV) remodelling. LV remodelling is part of the healing process of myocardium after MI. It is defined as the end diastolic volume (EDV) increase in the first months after MI. Adverse LV remodelling is increased by inflammation and ultimately leads to heart failure.

Our main hypothesis is that colchicine with its anti-inflammatory properties significantly reduces the initiation of adverse LV remodelling, together with a significant reduction of infarct size and microvascular obstruction in comparison to placebo in acute STEMI patients referred for PPCI.

After inclusion and randomisation, patients will receive the first part of their experimental treatment: colchicine or placebo before PCI, then, the second part after PCI and during 5 days. They will be followed up during their hospitalization and until one year. In order to evaluate LV remodelling, two cardiac magnetic resonance studies will be performed during their participation: one during their hospitalization and a second at 3 months. At 1 year, adverse events will be collected by phone.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Myocardial Infarction
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Colchicine group (experimental arm); Drug: Placebo group (control arm)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 194
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Angers, France
    • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Angers
  • Bron, France, 69677
    • Hôpital Louis Pradel
  • Lyon, France
    • Hôpital Saint Joseph
  • Montpellier, France
    • CHU Arnaud de Villeneuve
  • Mulhouse, France
    • CHU de Mulhouse
  • Poitiers, France
    • CHU de Poitiers
  • Toulouse, France
    • CHU de Rangueil
  • Tours, France
    • CHRU de Tours

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All patients, aged over 18 and <80 years,
• Presenting within 12 hours of chest pain onset,
• With ST segment elevation ≥ 0.2 mV in two contiguous leads or new onset of left bundle branch block,
• Referral for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).
• Preliminary oral informed consent followed by signed informed consent as soon as possible
• With an initially occluded coronary artery (TIMI angiographic flow of the culprit coronary artery ≤1)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with any legal protection measure,
• Patients without any health coverage,
• Patients with loss of consciousness or confused
• Patients with a history of prior myocardial infarction
• Patients with cardiogenic shock as defined by a systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg, despite 30 minutes of fluid challenge or requiring intravenous vasoactive agents (dobutamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline)
• Patient with severe liver or known renal dysfunction (known GFR≤30 ml/min)
• Patient with known history of severe drug intolerance to colchicine
• Female patients currently pregnant or women of childbearing age not using contraception (oral diagnosis)
• Patients with any obvious contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging (claustrophobia, pace maker, defibrillator….)
• Patients treated by macrolides or pristinamycin
• Chronic treatment with COLCHICINE (Mediterranean familial fever mainly)
• Patient with lactose intolerance
• Patient with swallowing disorders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Colchicine; The patients will receive an oral bolus of colchicine of 2 mg followed by 0.5 mg b.i.d. during 5 days.	Drug: Colchicine group (experimental arm); In the experimental group, patients will receive colchicine, starting with a loading dose of 2 mg at the time of revascularization and continuing with 0.5 mg twice daily (b.i.d) for 5 days.
Placebo Comparator: Control arm; The patients will receive an oral bolus of placebo of 2 mg followed by 0.5 mg b.i.d. during 5 days.	Drug: Placebo group (control arm); In the placebo group, patients will receive placebo, starting with a loading dose of 2 mg at the time of revascularization and continuing with 0.5 mg twice daily for 5 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
infarct size (in % of LV mass) as estimated by CMR	The primary endpoint will be the infarct size as estimated by CMR at 5 days follow-up between both groups	5 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
LV ejection fraction		At 5 days
Microvascular obstruction (in % of LV mass)		At 5 days
Absolute adverse left ventricular remodeling (mL)		at 3 months
Relative ventricular remodeling (%)		at 3 months
Infarct size in % of LV mass	Infarct size in % of LV mass assessed by ce-CMR	At 3 months
LVEDV	LVEDV (indexed to body surface area) as determined by CMR at the acute phase and 3 months follow-up respectively	At 3 months
LVESV	LVEDV (indexed to body surface area) as determined by CMR at the acute phase and 3 months follow-up respectively	at 3 months
Relative LV ejection fraction		5 days
Percent of thrombi in the LV		At 5 days
Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events	All cause death, cardiovascular death, heart failure worsening during initial hospitalization, hospitalization for heart failure, non-fatal myocardial infarction, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation.	at 3 months
Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events	All cause death, cardiovascular death, heart failure worsening during initial hospitalization, hospitalization for heart failure, non-fatal myocardial infarction, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation.	At 12 months
Quality of life assessed by the EuroQol-5D (EQ5D) questionnaire	Evaluation of quality of life by the EQ5D questionnaire ( scale on which the best state is marked 100 and the worst state is marked 0).	At 12 months
Dosage of inflammation biomarkers	Dosage of inflammation biomarkers; For all centers: neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, hematology, Platelets, fibrinogen.; For the centers participating to the BioCollection: interleukin 6, interleukin 8, interleukin 1β and interleukin 18, complement system components.	up to 3 months
number of treatment discontinuation		5 days
number of adverse events	(diarrhea, nausea/vomiting and myelotoxicity, renal function at 48H).	up to 5 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nathan MEWTON, PhD, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Louis Pradel, Service de cardiologie, 69677, Bron.

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Mewton N, Roubille F, Bresson D, Prieur C, Bouleti C, Bochaton T, Ivanes F, Dubreuil O, Biere L, Hayek A, Derimay F, Akodad M, Alos B, Haider L, El Jonhy N, Daw R, De Bourguignon C, Dhelens C, Finet G, Bonnefoy-Cudraz E, Bidaux G, Boutitie F, Maucort-Boulch D, Croisille P, Rioufol G, Prunier F, Angoulvant D. Effect of Colchicine on Myocardial Injury in Acute Myocardial Infarction. Circulation. 2021 Sep 14;144(11):859-869. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056177. Epub 2021 Aug 23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 23, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 8, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): August 16, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 16, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 16, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 17, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 1, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 29, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Inflammation; STEMI; Myocardial Infarction; CMR; Colchicine; Left ventricular remodeling
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Heart Diseases; Necrosis; Myocardial Ischemia; Ischemia; Myocardial Infarction; Infarction; Ventricular Remodeling; Antineoplastic Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Gout Suppressants; Antirheumatic Agents; Tubulin Modulators; Antimitotic Agents; Mitosis Modulators; Colchicine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 69HCL17_0034; 2017-004090-13 (EudraCT Number)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No