Effects of Tocilizumab on Adults With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

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BackgroundCoronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a worldwide disaster, has already affected lots of people. Effective care and therapy are currently being evaluated in full swing.PurposeOur purpose was to investigate the effects of tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor, on treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.Data Sources, Study Selection, and Data ExtractionWe conducted a meta-analysis and searched for relevant studies on Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library without restrictions on language from inception until February 1, 2021. Fifteen studies were included for this meta-analysis. Two authors independently selected and screened these studies, assessed the quality of included studies, and extracted related information.ResultsFifteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. The main studies showed that tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality (risk ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.46–0.83; and hazard ratio = 0.61, 95% confidence interval = 0.51–0.72). Using tocilizumab might also affect biochemistry indicators (lowered C-reactive protein and ferritin, increased lymphocyte count).ConclusionThese current bodies of evidence could indicate that early use of tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality in adult patients with COVID-19. Early use of tocilizumab could reduce the mortality rate of adult patients with COVID-19 without obvious fatal side effects, which may be a treatment option in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.Systematic Review RegistrationThe study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (ID:242811).

Keywords

• COVID-19
• tocilizumab
• meta-analysis
• mortality
• side effects
• treatment