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NCT05618353RecruitingPhase 4

The Peri-OPerative COlchicine to Reduce Negative Events (POPCORN) Trial

Impact of Colchicine on Peri-Operative Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Prior Coronary Revascularization

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 22 Apr 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Veterans. Inflammation in the arteries of the heart may increase the risk of cardiac death. Patients with heart disease undergoing major surgery are at increased risk of complications after surgery, including heart attack, stroke, and death. The proposed research seeks to better understand the role of inflammation in the damage to the heart and blood vessels after major surgery. This research also seeks to identify the potential beneficial role of a safe medication, colchicine, which has direct effects on inflammatory cells and has been used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases for more than 2000 years, on reducing the rate of complications after surgery. With its quick onset of action and excellent safety profile, colchicine may have the potential to reduce risk of heart injury, stroke, or death after major surgery.

Status (registry)
Recruiting
Phase (registry)
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
700 (estimated)
First submitted
3 Nov 2022
Start date
Aug 2023
Primary completion date
Jul 2028
Lead sponsor
VA Office of Research and Development
NCT number
NCT05618353

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Phase 4
  • Planned participants: 700
  • From Aug 2023 to the primary completion date, Jul 2028
  • 9 sites in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • Undergoing immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory chemo or biologic therapy
  • Patients on strong CYP3A4 and/or P-glycoprotein inhibitors (e.g., ritonavir, clarithromycin, diltiazem, verapamil) at baseline will also be excluded due to potential drug interactions
    • However, if one of these medications are started during the post-operative study period, dose adjustments will be made per drug package insert
    • Participants will also be instructed not to drink grapefruit juice while on study drug

Other illness

  • Colchicine use within one month or history of colchicine intolerance
  • Inflammatory bowel disease with history of diarrhea as presentation or chronic diarrhea
  • Pre-existent progressive neuromuscular disease
    • amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
    • hereditary muscular disorders
    • myositis
    • necrotizing myopathy
    • myasthenia gravis
    • lambert-eaton syndrome
  • History of cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis or severe hepatic disease
  • History of myelodysplasia with current evidence of cytopenia
  • Any significant condition or situation that may put the participant at higher risk, confound the study results, or interfere with adherence to study procedures

Lab values

  • Active infection defined as fever \>100.4oF or antibiotic use with white blood cell count greater than the upper limit of normal or lower than the lower limit of normal within 24 hours of randomization (major confounder with increased inflammatory markers)
  • Pregnant (as confirmed by urine or serum test), nursing, or planning to become pregnant during study participation

Other

  • Glomerular filtration rate \<30mL/minute or on dialysis
  • Participating in a competing study or unable to consent

Who the study is looking for

  • Men and women with
  • Prior coronary revascularization (via PCI or coronary artery bypass graft surgery) or high coronary atherosclerotic burden (\>70% let main disease or \>80% disease in the proximal or mid LAD, prox Cx, or prox or mid RCA on coronary angiography), AND
  • Referred for intermediate- or high-risk surgery (general abdominal or intraperitoneal surgery, neurosurgery, suprainguinal surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, thoracic surgery).
  • If planned for only a laparoscopic or endovascular approach (this includes a minimally invasive hybrid approach such as transcarotid artery revascularization), at least one component of the Revised Cardiac Risk Index score (history of myocardial infarction, history of congestive heart failure, history of transient ischemic attack or stroke, pre-operative use of insulin, pre-operative creatinine \>2 mg/dL) should be present.

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (9)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
BirminghamUnited StatesRecruiting
VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
BuffaloUnited StatesRecruiting
Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
ClevelandUnited StatesRecruiting
VA North Texas Health Care System Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
DallasUnited StatesRecruiting
Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
DurhamUnited StatesRecruiting
North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, FL
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
GainesvilleUnited StatesRecruiting
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
HoustonUnited StatesRecruiting
VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
Long BeachUnited StatesRecruiting
VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
New YorkUnited StatesRecruiting

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.