Abstract
A 72-year-old male presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of diarrhea after having tested positive for COVID-19 two days prior. He initially had minimal respiratory complaints, but was eventually transferred to the intensive care unit for acute hypoxic respiratory failure. In addition to dexamethasone, remdesivir, and antibiotics, the patient was treated with baricitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor that was recently granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. He had an extensive and complicated hospital course and had to be placed on mechanical ventilation, ultimately undergoing tracheostomy. After 78 days of hospitalization, his family withdrew life-sustaining measures and the patient died shortly thereafter. This case details the use of baricitinib for treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia, and demonstrates the need for additional studies regarding the efficacy of this drug.
Highlights
Since the initial reports of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there have been over 100 million confirmed cases of COVID19.[1] many infected with SARS-CoV-2 remain asymptomatic, others can develop severe pneumonia with a fatal illness
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted emergency use authorization for Baricitinib, a drug typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, for the treatment of COVID-19.[3]. This report presents the first use of Baricitinib at the University of Louisville Hospital to treat COVID-19 in a critically ill patient
Baricitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor used for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis.[4]
Summary
Baricitinib in the Treatment of a Critical Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Report. Recommended Citation: Patel N, Goldsmith D, Arnold FW. Baricitinib in the treatment of a critical patient with COVID-19 pneumonia: a case report. Univ Louisville J Respir Infect 2021; 5(1):Article 18
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