Clinical outcome in coronavirus disease patients treated with tocilizumab at a dedicated COVID hospital: A retrospective observational study

Abstract

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) is a global pandemic since December 2019. Cytokine release syndrome is a promising etiology for the severe manifestations of COVID-19. Along with viral invasion of cellular immunity, cytokine storm plays an important role in disease progression. For tackling the immune response, immunomodulators play an important role. Various studies have reported that there has been a decrease in IL-6 level, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and lower risk of death with the use of tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19 disease. Aims and Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the association between tocilizumab exposure and outcome among COVID-19 patients in a dedicated COVID hospital. The objectives of the study were to assess the clinical outcome in COVID-19 in terms of death and discharge as well as to compare the total leukocyte count, CRP, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase MB, and D-Dimer before and after the administration of tocilizumab. Materials and Methods: After obtaining ethics committee approval, we included 41 patients who received injection tocilizumab. After going through all the records, we entered the data in the Microsoft Excel sheet and assessed the data with the use of statistical analysis of Microsoft Excel. Results: Out of 41 patients, 19 patients were discharged and 22 patients did not survive. The laboratory investigations showed significant improvement after the administration of tocilizumab. Conclusion: Tocilizumab use has shown improvement in the laboratory investigations, but the clinical outcome did not show significant results.