Skip directly to search Skip directly to A to Z list Skip directly to navigation Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options
CDC Home

Case Definition: Colchicine

Clinical description

Ingestion of colchicine typically leads to profuse vomiting and diarrhea, which can be bloody, followed by hypovolemic shock and multisystem organ failure within 24-72 hours. Coma, convulsions, and sudden death might also occur. Subsequent complications include bone marrow suppression with resultant leukopenia, thrombocytopenia (nadir in 4-7 days), and possibly sepsis (1).

Laboratory criteria for diagnosis

  • Biologic: A case in which colchicine is detected in urine, serum, or plasma (2), as determined by a commercial laboratory.

- OR-

  • Environmental: Detection of colchicine in environmental samples, as determined by FDA.

Case classification

  • Suspected: A case in which a potentially exposed person is being evaluated by health-care workers or public health officials for poisoning by a particular chemical agent, but no specific credible threat exists.
  • Probable: A clinically compatible case in which a high index of suspicion (credible threat or patient history regarding location and time) exists for colchicine exposure, or an epidemiologic link exists between this case and a laboratory-confirmed case.
  • Confirmed: A clinically compatible case in which laboratory tests have confirmed exposure.

The case can be confirmed if laboratory testing was not performed because either a predominant amount of clinical and nonspecific laboratory evidence of a particular chemical was present or a 100% certainty of the etiology of the agent is known.

Additional resources

  1. Milne ST, Meek PD. Fatal colchicine overdose: report of a case and review of the literature. Am J Emerg Med 1998;16:603--8.
  2. Tracqui A, Kintz P, Ludes B, Rouge C, Douibi H, Mangin P. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ion spray spectrometry for the determination of colchicine at ppb levels in human biofluids. Chromatogr B: Biomed Sci Appl, 1996;675:235-42.

This document is based on CDC’s best current information. It may be updated as new information becomes available.

  • Page last reviewed February 22, 2006
  • Page last updated March 15, 2005
Contact Us:
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    1600 Clifton Rd
    Atlanta, GA 30333
  • 800-CDC-INFO
    (800-232-4636)
    TTY: (888) 232-6348
    24 Hours/Every Day
  • cdcinfo@cdc.gov
USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web PortalDepartment of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: (888) 232-6348, 24 Hours/Every Day - cdcinfo@cdc.gov

A-Z Index

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. F
  7. G
  8. H
  9. I
  10. J
  11. K
  12. L
  13. M
  14. N
  15. O
  16. P
  17. Q
  18. R
  19. S
  20. T
  21. U
  22. V
  23. W
  24. X
  25. Y
  26. Z
  27. #