Preliminary Efficacy of Tocilizumab Treatment in The Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was considered to be with the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients, which implies a potential therapeutic target for treatment. We aimed to evaluate the safety and initial efficacy of Tocilizumab treatment for COVID-19 patients.Methods: In the retrospective study, sixty-one patients with COVID-19 with the mean age of 69 were enrolled from Feb 27 to Mar 14, 2020 in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital. Twenty-nine of them received one dose (400 mg) of add-on Tocilizumab treatment as the treated group and remaining 32 cases served as control group. The clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations were compared between the two groups.Results: The average duration of symptoms to admission was 28.2 days. Compared with the cases in control group, the treated cases exhibited a significant increase of serum IL-6 on the seventh day since Tocilizumab injection, however, there were no differences in whole blood white cell count, circulating lymphocyte count, serum C-reactive protein, and respiratory parameters or other clinical manifestations between the treated and control groups. There were no adverse events associated with Tocilizumab treatment in the treated COVID-19 patients.Conclusions: In the elder moderate and severe patients with COVID-19, one dose of Tocilizumab treatment was safe but no clinical benefit was observed on the seventh day in this study.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trail Registry, ChiCTR2000033705. Registered June 10, 2020 - Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=54989.