Tocilizumab may improve survival in sickest Covid patients

August 21, 2020 17:58

Tocilizumab, a drug normally used in rheumatoid arthritis and cancer treatments, may improve hospital survival in critically-ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), according to an observational study of more than 600 people infected with the novel coronavirus.

The research, published in The Lancet Rheumatology, noted a roughly 36 per cent decrease in hospital-related mortality among the ICU patients who received tocilizumab, as compared with patients in the ICU who didn't receive it.

In the study, the scientists including those from John Theurer Cancer Center in the US, assessed data on 630 patients who were admitted to the ICUs of 13 Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals from March 1 to April 22.

Among other treatments, they said tocilizumab was considered for off-label usage for the patients whose respiratory symptoms were declining -- many of whom were requiring mechanical ventilator support. In the observational study, the researchers noted that 210 patients received tocilizumab, and the other 420 did not. -- PTI

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