Medication: overdose of colchicine can lead to severe poisoning

Prescribed in the management of acute attacks of gout, colchicine (Colchicine Opocalcium®, Colchimax®) would present risks of serious intoxication, potentially going as far as death, in the event of overdose or non-compliance. of the dosage. A risk serious enough to cause a reminder injection regarding its administration.

Digestive disorders that should alert

According to the letter from the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), “colchicine is a drug with a narrow therapeutic margin which exposes you to the risk of serious overdoses, the first signs of which are manifested by digestive disorders (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting)“.

But depending on the dose ingested, the discomfort and health consequences can evolve into a much more serious context: “Depending on the dose ingested, multi-visceral failure, sometimes fatal, can occur (respiratory, cardiovascular, hematological, neurological damage, etc.)”recalls the ANSM.

The document also recalls that if colchicine was seen as a promising treatment for Covid, it was disavowed a few months later too.

Strict instructions to remember

However, the ANSM reminds that these cited risks can be completely reduced if health professionals respect the indications of the Marketing Authorization (AMM), the dosage, the contraindications and the drug interactions. As a precaution, doctors and pharmacists are also responsible for:

• Reduce the dosage in subjects over the age of 75, hepatic insufficiency, renal insufficiency or at risk of renal insufficiency;
• Do not prescribe colchicine in patients with severe renal impairment and severe hepatic impairment;
• Check the risks of drug interactions;
• And especially to inform the patients on the respect of the posology and the need for a fast consultation in the event of appearance of diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting.