RT Journal Article
T1 Early use of tocilizumab in patients with severe pneumonia secondary to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and poor prognostic criteria: Impact on mortality rate and intensive care unit admission.
A1 Sánchez-Rovira, Pedro
A1 Pérez-Chica, Gerardo
A1 Ortega-Granados, Ana Laura
A1 Aguilar-García, Josefa
A1 Díaz-Beltrán, Leticia
A1 Gálvez-Montosa, Fernando
A1 García-Verdejo, Francisco
A1 Luque-Caro, Natalia
A1 Quero-Blanco, Cristina
A1 Fernández-Navarro, Mónica
A1 Rodríguez-Sánchez, Agustín
A1 Ruiz-Bailén, Manuel
A1 Yaguez-Mateos, Luis
A1 Marín-Pozo, Juan Francisco
A1 Sierra-Torres, María Isabel
A1 Lacárcel-Bautista, Celia
A1 Duro-Ruiz, Gaspar Jesús
A1 Duro-Fernández, María Ángeles
A1 García-Alegría, Javier
A1 Herrero-Rodríguez, Carmen
AB The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, keeps spreading globally. Evidence suggests that a subgroup of patients with severe symptomatology might have cytokine storms, which increases mortality. The use of interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors may help in controlling the pathological immune response to the virus. Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody against IL-6, stands as an optional treatment for COVID-19 patients presenting this inflammatory hyper-response.We conducted a retrospective, observational, cohort study including 50 patients affected by COVID-19 with severe pneumonia and poor prognosis criteria, who have also undergone standard treatment; 36 of these patients additionally received tocilizumab in an early stage. The need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality, recovery of respiratory function, and improvement of biochemical and hematological parameters were compared between cohorts.Most patients were men, non-smokers and the most frequently reported comorbidities were hypertension and diabetes. Recurrent symptoms were fever, cough, and dyspnoea. 54.8% of patients from the tocilizumab group needed intubation, while in the control group 85.7% needed it. Treatment with tocilizumab significatively increased IL-6 levels, (554.45; CI 95% 186.69, 1032.93; P 
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/18381
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/18381
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 7, 2025