Preliminary Efficacy of Tocilizumab Treatment in the Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Abstract Background Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was considered to be with the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients, which implies a potential therapeutic target for treatment. We aimed to evaluate the safety and initial efficacy of Tocilizumab treatment for COVID-19 patients. Methods In the retrospective study, 61 patients with COVID-19 with the mean age of 69 were enrolled from February 27 to March 14, 2020 in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital. Twenty-nine of them received one dose (400 mg) of add-on Tocilizumab treatment as the treated group and remaining 32 cases served as control group. The clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations were compared between the two groups. Results The average duration of symptoms appeal to hospital admission was 28.2 days. Compared with the cases in control group, the treated cases exhibited a significant increase of serum IL-6 on the 7th day since Tocilizumab injection, however, there were no differences in whole blood white cell count, circulating lymphocyte count, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and respiratory parameters or other clinical manifestations between the treated and control groups. There were no adverse events associated with Tocilizumab treatment in the treated COVID-19 patients. Conclusion In the patients with COVID-19, one dose of Tocilizumab treatment was safe but no clinical benefit was observed on the 7th day in this study.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Tocilizumab
• preliminary efficacy
• safety