A Phase 3 interventional study of Colchicine and Placebo in Cardiovascular Diseases, Cardiovascular Complication and Perioperative Complication, sponsored by Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen. Recruiting at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 45 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-24.
Sponsored by Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment
Perioperative myocardial injury and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are common causes of morbidity and mortality in patients at increased cardiovascular risk undergoing non-cardiac surgery.
However, research in recent years has yielded limited preventive and therapeutic measures for myocardial injury/MACE. Recent studies in patients with chronic and acute coronary artery disease have shown that colchicine administration can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.
These encouraging results in non-surgical patients ask for a similar investigation in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. The aim of the proposed study is to investigate the effects of perioperative colchicine administration on the incidence of myocardial injury/MACE.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study is conducted at the Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen and the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. The investigators intend to expand the participant recruitment to other centers. Inclusion criteria encompass patients' cardiovascular risk profile and vascular, orthopedic, visceral, and thoracic surgical procedures with a high risk as determined by the recognized incidence of troponin dynamics. Patients are informed during preoperative consultation and provide consent prior to randomization to the colchicine or placebo groups. The preoperative assessment includes medical history, medication use and physical capacity. Baseline values and cardiac biomarkers, are determined through routine laboratory tests. Study medication is administered from the evening before surgery until the third postoperative day. Daily high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) testing is performed until the fourth day. Visits monitor primary, secondary, and safety endpoints, with standard treatment for complications. Post-hospitalization, cardiovascular events will be recorded until postoperative day 30 and for one year post-surgery to assess long-term outcomes.
The primary objective is to evaluate the efficacy of perioperative colchicine administration in cardiac-risk patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery, with the aim of reducing the myocardial injury incidence until postoperative day 4 and mitigate postoperative MACE until postoperative day 30. Secondary objectives include whether perioperative administration of colchicine reduces new-onset atrial fibrillation incidence postoperatively (until discharge) compared to placebo, to quantify the maximum increase in postoperative hs-cTnT concentrations until postoperative day 4 and to assess the impact of perioperative colchicine administration on long-term survival and morbidity (composite of MACE) after one year. The safety objectives are the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events and clinically adverse events attributable to the administration of colchicine.
5,368 studies on the registry are indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases; 939 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 880 is above the median of 100 across 3,084 interventional studies indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases.
Browse Cardiovascular Diseases studies →Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen is the lead sponsor of 79 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
undergoing major non-cardiac surgery in general anaesthesia will be included. Major non-cardiac surgery is defined as:
at cardiovascular risk, defined as meeting at least 1 of the following 6 criteria:
fulfilment of any 3 of the 8 following criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
CYP3A is a group of enzymes, mainly CYP3A4, in the liver and gut that break down many medicines. Some medicines, supplements and foods (grapefruit, St John’s wort) slow them down or speed them up, which changes how much of a study drug stays in the body.
Studies list them so they can be avoided or switched; bring a list of everything you take, including supplements.
TIA (transient ischaemic attack)
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Creatinine clearance (CrCl)
How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
CYP3A (CYP3A4) inhibitors and inducers
CYP3A is a group of enzymes, mainly CYP3A4, in the liver and gut that break down many medicines. Some medicines, supplements and foods (grapefruit, St John’s wort) slow them down or speed them up, which changes how much of a study drug stays in the body.
Studies list them so they can be avoided or switched; bring a list of everything you take, including supplements.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The first dose of the IMP is administered in the evening prior to the surgical procedure. Administrations of the study drug follow a 1-0-1 schedule (colchicine 0.5 mg per intake). The last study drug is administered in the evening of the third postoperative day.
Drug: Colchicine
Patients in the control group will receive the same perioperative anaesthetic, surgical and medical treatment as patients in the experimental group, the sole difference being that patients will be given a placebo instead of the IMP colchicine. The first dose of the placebo is administered in the evening prior to the surgical procedure. Administrations of the placebo follow a 1-0-1 schedule. The last placebo is administered in the evening of the third postoperative day.
Drug: Placebo
Colchicine Group: IMP = Colchicine (0.5 mg, enteral) first application in the evening before day of surgery, following a 1-0-1 regimen until the third postoperative day, ending with the application of the ninth dose. Colchicine tablets are provided as 1 mg tablets with a score, which must be divided before ingestion.
Placebo Group: Placebo (identical to IMP in appearance and application) first application in the evening before day of surgery, following a 1-0-1 regimen until the third postoperative day, ending with the application of the ninth dose. Placebo tablets are provided as tablets with a score, which must be divided before ingestion.
Also known as: Control
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events
Proportion of patients developing MACE in the peri- postoperative course. MACE is defined as a composite of any of the following within 30 days following surgery: * Acute coronary syndrome * New/worsening congestive heart failure * Coronary revascularization * Stroke * All-cause mortality * Cardiovascular death
Time frame: until postoperative day 30
Myocardial Injury
Proportion of patients developing myocardial injury in the peri- postoperative course. The primary outcome is a composite of myocardial injury and 30-day MACE. Myocardial injury is defined as an absolute perioperative rise in hs-cTnT of ≥ 14 ng/l above preoperative values (or between two postoperative measurements, if preoperative hs-cTnT is missing).
Time frame: until postoperative day 4
New onset Atrial fibrillation
Proportion of patients developing new-onset atrial fibrillation in the peri- postoperative course. The time frame includes the time from beginning of surgery (ECG monitoring in the peri- and early postoperative course on postoperative care unit/intensive care unit) until the date of first documented occurrence of atrial fibrillation (perioperative monitoring by daily nurse-controlled pulse examination, verified by an ECG in case of suspected arrhythmia/atrial fibrillation). These monitoring procedures take place until the discharge from the hospital.
Time frame: From beginning of surgery/surgical procedures until the date of first documented occurrence or until postoperative day 30/discharge from hospital, whatever comes first
postoperative high sensitive cardiac Troponin T concentrations
Comparison of postoperative hs-cTnT concentrations (maximal increase from individual baseline \& the area under the curve) until postoperative day 4 between the study groups
Time frame: until postoperative day 4
long term cardiovascular outcome
Proportion of patients developing MACE in regard of long term cardiovascular outcome after surgery.1-year composite endpoint of MACE (composite of acute coronary syndrome, new or worsening congestive heart failure, coronary revascularization, stroke, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality) as a marker of long-term postoperative outcome.
Time frame: until 1 year after surgery
Gastrointestinal adverse events
Proportion of patients developing gastrointestinal side effects as: diarrhoea, abdominal cramping, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea after the intervention
Time frame: From the first intake of the study drug until 72 hours after the last intake of the study drug (i.e., postoperative day 6) or until discharge from the hospital, whatever comes first
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Apr 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2028, 35 months after the start.
Of 40 non-industry phase 3 interventional studies under Cardiovascular Diseases, half reached primary completion within 57 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 41 and three quarters within 95. This study's planned 35 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 82 studies reached it within 57 months; a quarter within 34 and three quarters within 83.
Cardiovascular Diseases covers many different conditions, not one, so the studies compared here vary widely. Read these figures as a rough guide.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Colchicine
Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen