Diagnostic Value of the Colchicine Therapeutic Trial

Abstract

The reliability of the colchicine therapeutic trial as a diagnostic tool in differentiating acute gout from other forms of arthritis was tested in this study. Rigid criteria for improvement as a result of colchicine therapy were established: (1) major subsidence of objective joint inflammatory changes within 48 hours of colchicine therapy, and (2) no recrudescence of inflammatory joint manifestations within seven days. Approximately 75% (44 of 58) of patients with acute gout responded in this manner; three of 62 (5%) patients with other arthritic disorders also responded. It is concluded that the colchicine therapeutic trial is a useful, but not infallible, diagnostic aid.