There has not been a prospective, randomized controlled trial of colchicine to reduce post-AF
ablation pericarditis in an era of newer AF ablation techniques. The hypothesis is that an
empiric pre and post AF ablation treatment protocol with colchicine may reduce the incidence
and symptom severity of post-AF ablation related pericarditis. Thus, the goal of this study
is to
1. Identify the incidence of post-AF ablation related pericarditis in patients undergoing
ablation via high power, short duration strategy (shorter total RF time, but increased
stability due to steerable catheters and possible difference from resistive vs
conductive heating).
2. Identify potential differences in patients undergoing PVI only versus PVI + additional
ablation
3. Identify whether patients on who are already on anti-inflammatories such as ASA or
statins have a lower incidence than those without
4. Determine if an empiric treatment strategy with colchicine (for 7 days post ablation)
reduces the incidence of post-operative AF