A systematic review of the drug–drug interaction between statins and colchicine: Patient characteristics, etiologies, and clinical management strategies

Abstract

Colchicine and statins are frequently co-prescribed for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, auto-inflammatory diseases, and gout. Both are substrates and inhibitors of the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 3A4 isozyme and P-glycoprotein so that taken together, they represent a clinically significant interaction. Data suggest the interaction may be associated with potentially life-threatening myopathies and rhabdomyolysis. The purposes of this systematic review (SR) were to gather and appraise evidence surrounding the statin-colchicine drug interaction and discuss related risk-mitigation strategies. An electronic literature search was performed. Twenty-one articles met the protocol to be included in the qualitative analysis: 18 case reports/series, 2 retrospective observational cohort studies, and 1 retrospective case-control study. Thirty-eight patients developed an adverse drug event (ADE) receiving statin-colchicine combination therapy; 25 (66%) patients developed myopathy; 10 (26%) patients developed rhabdomyolysis, and three (8%) patients developed neuromyopathy. Over 70% of patients developed ADEs on simvastatin or atorvastatin, and 80% of studies reported moderate-to-high intensity statins. Colchicine dosing varied but ranged between 0.5 to 1.5 mg daily. Sixty-two percent of patients in the case reports/series had comorbid renal disease. Seven studies (33% of all included studies) reported patients taking concomitant interacting medications at the CYP3A4 and/or P-glycoprotein efflux pump. Seventeen studies (81% of all included studies) reported ADEs leading to hospitalization. A multivariate analysis from one case-control study identified risk factors prognosticating myopathy ADEs in patients taking statin-colchicine therapy: comorbid renal disease and/or cirrhosis, colchicine doses 1.2 mg daily or greater, and concomitant interacting medications. Clinicians must be cognizant that the statin-colchicine drug interaction may lead to patient harm and thus should employ risk-mitigation strategies for statin-associated muscle symptoms. Future studies are warranted to validate clinically relevant risk factors that are strongly associated with the complications owing to the statin-colchicine drug interaction.

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