The Scientific Team of the Ministry of Health is positive about the use of colchicine for the treatment of COVID-19 disease, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine & Infection Prevention and Control Constantinos Tsioutis told CNA, adding that epidemiologists are studying all relevant scientific data.

The results of a large Canadian study on colchicine in patients with COVID-19, showed a significant benefit, as there was a 44% reduction in mortality, 25% in hospitalization and a 50% reduction in the need for intubation.

Dr. Tsioutis, who is also a member of the Scientific Team of the Ministry of Health, told CNA that colchicine is safe and tested in several diseases and reduces the inflammatory reaction of the body. He further explained that the drug has a good safety profile and noted that there is a lot of clinical experience, because it’s an old anti-inflammatory drug.

“What remains to be done is to examine the data in detail,” he said. The Scientific Team, he said, should look at some details, such as on which groups of patients should be given the medicine and how to monitor the patient`s progress and response to the drug.

Greece has already included colchicine in its treatment protocol. With GRECO-19 study, the country was a pioneer in the study of the effect of colchicine in patients with COVID-19. Colchicine will be administrated in pill form, after medical evaluation and prescription and after a positive molecular test.

Colchicine treatment will be given to patients older than 60 years, regardless of whether they have underlying conditions, and patients aged 18-60 years with at least one underlying condition or fever above 38C.