Colchicine for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events

Abstract

ObjectivesThis is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows:To assess the clinical benefit and harms of colchicine as primary prevention of cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. Background Description of the conditionCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) include coronary heart disease (CHD), sudden cardiac death/sudden cardiac arrest, cerebrovascular disease, stroke/transient ischemic attack, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and peripheral arterial disease. From 1990 to 2019, the prevalence of cases of total CVDs has been nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval: 257 to 285 million) to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million), respectively (Roth 2020). In addition, it has been estimated that CVDs caused 18.6 million (95% uncertainty interval: 17.1 to 19.7 million) deaths in 2019 (Roth 2020). Doubtlessly, CVDs yield a high socioeconomic burden in the general population (Flora 2019).The main cause of CVDs is atherosclerosis which is the result of cellular-molecular interactions in the artery wall (Gotlieb 1991); therefore, it is a chronic inflammatory disease with autoimmune foundations (