A drug that was used in the time of the pharaohs for rheumatism has proven highly effective in treating recurrent bouts of pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart, according to findings.

The ancient medicine, colchicine, which has also been used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory agent for acute gout, was tested against placebo in a 240-patient pericarditis trial.

The rate of recurring pericarditis was nearly halved for those taking colchicine compared with placebo, according to data presented on Sunday at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Washington. The condition, which causes sharp chest pain, recurred in 42.5 per cent of those taking dummy pills, compared with 21.6 per cent of those who got colchicine.

Moreover, after three days of treatment, 19.2 per cent of patients taking the drug had symptoms, compared with more than 44 per cent of those given placebos. And those taking placebos, on average, had 0.63 recurrences, compared to 0.28 recurrences for those on colchicine.

With such fewer recurrences, the drug reduced the rate of hospitalisations to 1.7 per cent, from 10 per cent in the placebo group, potentially cutting healthcare costs at a time when pressure is mounting to limit costly hospital readmissions.

Although colchicine has been used for decades to treat pericarditis, following favourable trends seen in earlier trials, this was the first large formal multi-centre study to examine use of the drug for multiple recurrences of the condition.

Patients in the study received 0.5 milligrams of the drug either once or twice daily depending on their weight in addition to commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin.

No serious side effects were associated with use of colchicine, researchers said, but gastrointestinal issues were reported in about eight per cent of patients.

The reasons for pericarditis that repeatedly recurs once the original cause has been treated are not well under-stood, but potential causes are infections, kidney disease, cancer and heart surgery, researchers said.