• Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Dec 2020

    Beneficial effect of corticosteroids in preventing mortality in patients receiving tocilizumab to treat severe COVID-19 illness.

    • Manuel Rubio-Rivas, Mar Ronda, Ariadna Padulles, Francesca Mitjavila, Antoni Riera-Mestre, Carlos García-Forero, Adriana Iriarte, Jose M Mora, Nuria Padulles, Monica Gonzalez, Xavier Solanich, Merce Gasa, Guillermo Suarez-Cuartin, Joan Sabater, Xose L Perez-Fernandez, Eugenia Santacana, Elisabet Leiva, Albert Ariza-Sole, Paolo D Dallaglio, Maria Quero, Antonio Soriano, Alberto Pasqualetto, Maylin Koo, Virginia Esteve, Arnau Antoli, Rafael Moreno-Gonzalez, Sergi Yun, Pau Cerda, Mariona Llaberia, Francesc Formiga, Marta Fanlo, Abelardo Montero, David Chivite, Olga Capdevila, Ferran Bolao, Xavier Pinto, Josep Llop, Antoni Sabate, Jordi Guardiola, Josep M Cruzado, Josep Comin-Colet, Salud Santos, Ramon Jodar, and Xavier Corbella.
    • Department of Internal Medicine, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, University of Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mrubio@bellvitgehospital.cat.
    • Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2020 Dec 1; 101: 290-297.

    ObjectivesTo assess the characteristics and risk factors for mortality in patients with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) treated with tocilizumab (TCZ), alone or in combination with corticosteroids (CS).MethodsFrom March 17 to April 7, 2020, a real-world observational retrospective analysis of consecutive hospitalized adult patients receiving TCZ to treat severe COVID-19 was conducted at our 750-bed university hospital. The main outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 1,092 patients with COVID-19 were admitted during the study period. Of them, 186 (17%) were treated with TCZ, of which 129 (87.8%) in combination with CS. Of the total 186 patients, 155 (83.3 %) patients were receiving noninvasive ventilation when TCZ was initiated. Mean time from symptoms onset and hospital admission to TCZ use was 12 (±4.3) and 4.3 days (±3.4), respectively. Overall, 147 (79%) survived and 39 (21%) died. By multivariate analysis, mortality was associated with older age (HR = 1.09, p < 0.001), chronic heart failure (HR = 4.4, p = 0.003), and chronic liver disease (HR = 4.69, p = 0.004). The use of CS, in combination with TCZ, was identified as a protective factor against mortality (HR = 0.26, p < 0.001) in such severe COVID-19 patients receiving TCZ. No serious superinfections were observed after a 30-day follow-up.ConclusionsIn patients with severe COVID-19 receiving TCZ due to systemic host-immune inflammatory response syndrome, the use of CS in addition to TCZ therapy, showed a beneficial effect in preventing in-hospital mortality.Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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