Health experts green-light colchicine for treating outpatient Covid-19

The Greek committee of experts advising the government on the pandemic approved the use of colchicine, an inexpensive drug for treating gout, to be included in the protocol of patients with Covid-19, following the results of a Canadian study in which Greece participated.

The study showed that the administration of colchicine to Covid-19 patients "reduced mortality by 44 pct, hospitalization by 25 pct and the need for intubation by 50 pct," Spyros Deftereos, professor of cardiology who coordinated the study in Greece, told state-run news agency ANA-MPA.

The president of the Hellenic Society of Infections and member of the committee, Panagiotis Gargalianos, said that the administration of colchicine will require a doctor's prescription and will be made available to certain categories of patients who have tested positive for the virus.