Colchicine overdose: the devil is in the detail.

Colchicine, a highly poisonous alkaloid, is a commonly used treatment for gout, Bechet's disease, and familial Mediterranean fever. Despite the knowledge of its side effects, the near universally fatal consequence of a significant overdose is commonly under-appreciated. In this report, we present a case series of 9 patients over the past 15 years (from within the Auckland region of New Zealand) that have presented with a colchicine overdose.