Colchicine Versus Placebo in Acute Myocarditis Patients

Official title

Colchicine Versus Placebo in Acute Myocarditis Patients to Reduce Late Gadolinium Enhancement Mass on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and the Risk of Clinical Outcomes: The ARGO Trial

Overview

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the heart, mostly caused by viruses. Patients with acute myocarditis are exposed to several complications: recurrence, ventricular arrhythmias (from 5 to 30%), heart failure (5-10%), death or heart transplantation (\< 4%). To date, there is no specific treatment for myocarditis. Patient management only focuses upon empirical optimal care of arrhythmia and heart failure. There is a strong rationale for using colchicine in acute myocarditis: * the IL1 (Interleukin1) pathway plays a detrimental role in acute myocarditis. NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome assembly, and subsequent IL-1beta production, are profoundly inhibited by colchicine. * colchicine has been shown to improve cardiac outcomes in inflammatory cardiac disorders, including pericarditis, coronary artery disease, and post pericardiotomy syndrome. * In murine model of CVB3-induced myocarditis (coxsackievirus B3), colchicine improved myocarditis through reduction of NLRP3 activity. * Small case series with improvement of left ejection fraction in myocarditis following low-dose colchicine in addition to conventional heart failure therapy have been reported. With its pleiotropic anti-inflammatory effect in the pro-inflammatory cascade, reducing the myocardial damage and cell death induced during myocarditis, colchicine has the potential to reduce the risk of heart failure and ventricular arrhythmias. Finally, colchicine is a drug widely available, at low cost, and has a long and well-known safety record.

Detailed description

This study is a prospective, randomized, multicenter, double blind, controlled versus placebo, phase III study in which two groups of participants are compared: a group treated with the experimental treatment Colchicine (in addition to standard of care therapy) compared to a control group that receive the corresponding placebo (in addition to standard of care therapy).

The inclusion visit takes place during the initial hospitalization stay. The study is presented to all patients presenting with acute myocarditis symptoms and inclusion criteria, hospitalized in participating centers.

Once eligible participants have been informed and signed their informed consent, they are randomized (1:1) by a centralized web system (IWRS) in the experimental group (Colchicine) or the control group (Placebo).

Participants receive then a numbered box with three months' treatment of Colchicine or placebo. The treatment must start at least within 72h after randomization. Another dispensing is performed during the three months' follow-up visit.

All randomized participants are followed during six months after the end of the treatment.

Interventions

• Drug Colchicine Pill
  Participant receive, in addition to standard of care therapy, six months of colchicine (at a dose of 0.5 mg twice daily, morning and evening) beginning maximum 72 hours post-randomization. The standard of care is defined according to the European consensus paper as follow: All participants without contraindication receive a betablockers, and heart failure ESC (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines directed medical therapies if LVEF \< 50% (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction), including ACE
• Drug Placebo
  Participant receive, in addition to standard of care therapy, six months of placebo (at a dose of 0.5 mg twice daily, morning and evening) beginning maximum 72 hours post-randomization. The standard of care is defined according to the European consensus paper as follow: All participants without contraindication receive a betablockers, and heart failure ESC (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines directed medical therapies if LVEF \< 50% (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction), including ACE (A

Primary outcome measures

• Extent of Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) evaluated on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Composite Clinical primary outcome [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]

Secondary outcome measures (12)

• Safety of colchicine [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Composite clinical secondary outcome [Time frame: one year post-randomization]
• Rate of heart failure at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of acute myocarditis recurrence at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of clinically relevant chest pain at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of sustained ventricular arrhythmias at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of left ventricular assistance at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of heart transplantation at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of cardiovascular death at 6 months [Time frame: Six months post-randomization]
• Rate of heart failure at 1 year [Time frame: One year post-randomization]
• Rate of acute myocarditis recurrence at 1 year [Time frame: One year post-randomization]
• Rate of clinically relevant chest pain at 1 year [Time frame: One year post-randomization]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Symptom onset of 28 days or less,
• Myocarditis initially presenting with chest pain and/or Heart failure symptoms and/or palpitations
• Troponins superior to 99 percentile of reference value, at any time between admission and inclusion
• Myocarditis diagnostic confirmation (by Contrast-Enhanced Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR), according to the Lake Louise criteria (2009 or later),
• No evidence for ischemic heart disease on coronary angiography or coronary computed tomography angiography for patients with age superior to 40-year-old with one or more cardiovascular risk factor (hypertension, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, personal or family history of coronary artery disease),
• Woman of child-bearing age with an effective contraception method according to the investigator for the duration of treatment and one month after,
• Man accepting effective contraception for the duration of treatment and one month after,
• Participant with affiliation to the French Health Care System "sécurité sociale",
• Written informed consent of the patient obtained.

Exclusion criteria

• Cardiogenic shock requiring inotropes or vasopressors (patients with inotropes discontinued for more than 24 hours can be enrolled)
• Giant cell myocarditis or eosinophilic myocarditis
• Acute coronary syndrome or known coronary stenosis superior to 50%
• Toxic cardiomyopathy
• Active chronic inflammatory disease, chronic active infection, evolving cancer
• A recent severe sepsis (7 days)
• Hypersensitivity to Investgational Medical Product's active substances (colchicine) or to any of the excipients (including lactose, sucrose, microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal silica, magnesium stearate, colourants : E127, Dual Red 40 )
• Any known contra-indication to CMR or associated contract products (claustrophobia; intra-ocular metal foreign bodies, clips such as cerebral, carotid, or aortic aneurysm, cochlear implants, any implant held in by magnet, history of hypersensitivity to gadoteric acid or to gadolinium contrast agents or to meglumine). Patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker (PM) are also excluded due to the risk of imaging artifacts, which may compromise the reliable quantification of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE).
• Chronic treatment with corticosteroids or Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) or high-dose aspirin or immunosuppressant.
• Sarcoidosis
• Severe liver (Child Pugh C) or known renal dysfunction (known Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) less or equal to 30 ml/min according Cockroft),
• Cytopenia : hemoglobin less than 100 grams/L, white blood cell count less than 3.0 G/L, platelet count less than 100 G/L between admission and inclusion (within 7 days)
• Major digestive disorders (chronic diarrhea, inflammatory disease of the digestive tract as uncontrolled ulcerative colitis or active Crohn disease)
• Immunosuppression, spinal cord aplasia
• Hemopathy
• Hypereosinophilia more than 0.5 G/L between admission and inclusion
• Pregnant or nursing women, where pregnancy is defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation, confirmed by a positive local laboratory test,
• Administration of any investigational drug or participation in another interventional trial, within 30 days before randomization,
• Participant under treatment having an interaction with colchicine \[macrolides (telithromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, dirithromycin, erythromycin, josamycin, midecamycin, roxithromycin), pristinamycin,, cyclosporine, verapamil, all protease inhibitors, telaprevir, CYP3A4 powerful inhibitors, azole antifungals, vitamin K antagonists\]
• Participant under legal protection: under guardianship (trusteeship or curatorship)

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Quadruple blind

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

France · 2 centers

• Unité de Soins Intensifs Cardiologiques - Hôpital Cardiovasculaire Louis Pradel — Bron
• Institut de Cardiologie - APHP Pitié Salpêtrière — Paris

Publications

• Tschope C, Cooper LT, Torre-Amione G, Van Linthout S. Management of Myocarditis-Related Cardiomyopathy in Adults. Circ Res. 2019 May 24;124(11):1568-1583. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.313578. PMID 31120823
• Ammirati E, Cipriani M, Moro C, Raineri C, Pini D, Sormani P, Mantovani R, Varrenti M, Pedrotti P, Conca C, Mafrici A, Grosu A, Briguglia D, Guglielmetto S, Perego GB, Colombo S, Caico SI, Giannattasio C, Maestroni A, Carubelli V, Metra M, Lombardi C, Campodonico J, Agostoni P, Peretto G, Scelsi L, Turco A, Di Tano G, Campana C, Belloni A, Morandi F, Mortara A, Ciro A, Senni M, Gavazzi A, Frigerio PMID 29764898
• Kyto V, Sipila J, Rautava P. Rate and patient features associated with recurrence of acute myocarditis. Eur J Intern Med. 2014 Dec;25(10):946-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2014.11.001. Epub 2014 Nov 7. PMID 25468248
• Peretto G, Sala S, Rizzo S, Palmisano A, Esposito A, De Cobelli F, Campochiaro C, De Luca G, Foppoli L, Dagna L, Thiene G, Basso C, Della Bella P. Ventricular Arrhythmias in Myocarditis: Characterization and Relationships With Myocardial Inflammation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020 Mar 10;75(9):1046-1057. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.01.036. PMID 32138965
• Imazio M, Brucato A, Cemin R, Ferrua S, Maggiolini S, Beqaraj F, Demarie D, Forno D, Ferro S, Maestroni S, Belli R, Trinchero R, Spodick DH, Adler Y; ICAP Investigators. A randomized trial of colchicine for acute pericarditis. N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 17;369(16):1522-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1208536. Epub 2013 Aug 31. PMID 23992557
• Retnowati FD, Halawa DR, Maayah ZH, Abdallah AM. Targeting NLRP3 Inflammasomes in Myocarditis: Potential Therapeutic Strategies and Clinical Translation. Scientifica (Cairo). 2026 May 19;2026:6560386. doi: 10.1155/sci5/6560386. eCollection 2026. PMID 42163845

Identifiers

NCT: NCT05855746 · APHP211429

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗