Effectiveness and safety of intravenous tocilizumab to treat COVID-19-associated hyperinflammatory syndrome: Covizumab-6 observational cohort.

H Corominas, Ivan Castellví, V Pomar, R Antonijoan, I Mur, L Matas, I Gich, N de Benito, A Laiz, D Castillo, L Villamarin, D Filella, AM Millán, María Ángeles Quijada, Mireia Puig-Campmany, Jordi Casademont, P Domingo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although the starting event in COVID-19 is a viral infection some patients present with an over-exuberant inflammatory response, leading to acute lung injury (ALI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Since IL-6 plays a critical role in the inflammatory response, we assessed the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in this single-centre, observational study in all Covid-19 in-patient with a proven SARS-CoV-2 rapidly progressing infection to prevent ALI and ARDS. 104 patients with COVID-19 treated with TCZ had a lower mortality rate (5·8%) compared with the regional mortality rate (11%), hospitalized patient's mortality (10%), and slightly lower than hospitalized patients treated with our standard of care alone (6%). We found that TCZ rapidly decreased acute phase reactants, ferritin and liver release of proteins. D-Dimer decreased slowly. We did not observe specific safety concerns. Early administration of IL6-R antagonists in COVID-19 patients with impending hyperinflammatory response, may be safe and effective treatment to prevent, ICU admission and further complications.
Original languageEnglish
Article number108631
Number of pages7
JournalClinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.)
Volume223
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Tocilizumab
  • IL-6R antoagonist
  • Treatment
  • Cytokine realease syndrome

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effectiveness and safety of intravenous tocilizumab to treat COVID-19-associated hyperinflammatory syndrome: Covizumab-6 observational cohort.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this