Comparative study between corticosteroids and colchicine effect on interleukin-6 and Krebs-von-den Lungen-6 in treatment of post covid pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

Background Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) involve a diverse range of over 200 lung disorders, constituting a vast group of diseases. This study aimed to compare Corticosteroids and Colchicine in the treatment of post-covid pulmonary fibrosis (PC19-PF) through the assessment of effects of these drugs on some biomarkers as interleukin-6 (IL6) and Krebs-von-den Lungen-6 (KL6). Method This randomized controlled study was carried out 30 patients with PC19-PF and 10 healthy volunteers. All patients were randomly classified into four equal groups: group 1: received corticosteroids in the dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day. Group 2: received colchicine in the dose of 500 µg/12 h for 1 month. Group 3: received both corticosteroids in the dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day and colchicine in the dose of 500µg/12 h for 1 month. Group 4: healthy volunteers. Results A 45 pg/ml was the cut off value used to demonstrate the effect of treatment on serum IL6 in studied PC19-PF patients, with a sensitivity of 77% and 70% specificity. 180 U/ml was the cut off value used to demonstrate the effect of treatment on serum KL6, serum KL6 levels provide sensitivity of 67% and 70% specificity for the effect of treatment on serum KL6. The decrease in serum IL6 and KL6 after treatment was in group 3, followed by group 1 then group 2. Conclusion Prednisolone and colchicine were better than prednisolone alone in treatment of PC19-PF and colchicine alone showed slight improvement.