Are you using colchicine for gout-flare prophylaxis?

Inflammation prophylaxis is a crucial component of the management of gout1

Inflammation prophylaxis, urate-lowering therapy, and diet

The clinical case for a 6-month course of inflammation prophylaxis with colchicine in chronic gout:

  • Initiation of urate-lowering therapy may trigger breakthrough gout attacks with inflammation2
  • Inflammation is a key hallmark of recurrent gout2
  • In clinical studies, 6 months of inflammation prophylaxis with colchicine has been shown to prevent gout flares better than urate-lowering therapy alone1
Evidence matters: treatment guidelines strongly recommend a 3-6 month course of gout-flare prophylaxis such as colchicine3

Colchicine is thought to work by disrupting the gout inflammatory cascade in 2 key ways4

Blocking

NLRP inflammasome activation, caspase-1 activation, IL-1β activation
NLRP inflammasome activation, caspase-1 activation, IL-1β activation

Colchicine blocks the inflammasome complex that mediates interleukin activation.4

IL-1ß: Interleukin-1 beta.

Prevention

Prevention of neutrophil activity
Prevention of neutrophil activity

By inhibiting polymerization of tubulin into microtubules, colchicine prevents neutrophil activation and migration to sites of inflammation.4

Colchicine may block and prevent key mediators of symptoms in gout4