Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 patients: a singlecentre retrospective cohort study

https://www.ejinme.com/article/S0953-6205(20)30199-0/fulltext?rss=yes

65 severe COVID-19 patients were included in a retrospective study. Among them, 32 were treated with TCZ. At baseline, all patients were on
high-flow supplemental oxygen and most (78% of TCZ patients and 61% of standard treatment patients) were on non-invasive ventilation. During the 28-day follow-up, 69% of TCZ patients experienced a clinical improvement
compared to 61% of standard treatment patients (p = 0.61). Mortality was 15% in the tocilizumab group and 33% in standard treatment group (p = 0.15). In TCZ group, at multivariate analysis, older age was a predictor of
death, whereas higher baseline PaO2:FiO2 was a predictor of clinical improvement at day 28. At day 28, clinical improvement and mortality were not statistically different between tocilizumab and standard treatment patients in our cohort. Bacterial or fungal infections were recorded in 13% of tocilizumab patients and in 12% of standard treatment patients. Confirmation of efficacy and safety will require ongoing controlled trials.

Tags: