Tocilizumab in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia: Real-world data from a case series

Abstract

Aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 is a life-threatening disease and how to improve survival of the patients is of great importance. Objective: To determine whether tocilizumab (TCZ) shows favorable results in coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Materials and methods: A retrospective study of four patients who received TCZ was conducted from 19 February to 31 March 2020 at Leishenshan Hospital, Wuhan, China. Clinical data of patients were compared before and after the administration of the agent. Results: There was not much difference in the clinical feature improvements and computed tomography images after TCZ administration in two mild patients. The other two severe patients died of disseminated intravascular coagulation and acute respiratory distress syndrome, respectively. Conclusion: Administration of TCZ was not shown a favorable outcome in this preliminary uncontrolled case series. Patients treated with tocilizumab was not indicated a favoring outcome with not much improvement in two moderate patients and two severe patients died. Early identification of cytokine release syndrome in treating coronavirus disease 2019 patients with IL-6 antagonist is required.