Response of Tocilizumab in Treating Severe to Critical COVID-19; Single-Centre Experience at a Tertiary Care Centre

Authors

  • Sarfaraz Khan THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
  • Malik Muhammad Atif THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
  • Sadia Asif THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
  • Uzma Malik THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
  • Sarmad Zahoor THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
  • Samar Firdous THQ Hospital Doger, Pakistan, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v73i5.7532

Keywords:

Efficacy, Tocilizumab, Severe COVID-19, Standard Care, Survival

Abstract

Objective: To study the effectiveness of Tocilizumab in reducing mortality in severely or critically ill patients.

Study Design: Quasi-experimental study

Place and Duration of Study: Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan, from Dec 2020 to May 2021.

Methodology: The participants meeting the inclusion criteria of the study were allocated to an Experimental and a Control
Arm based on age and oxygen requirements. The Experimental-Group was given Tocilizumab plus standard care, while the
Control- Group received standard care only. Primary outcome was death, while secondary outcomes were the need for
invasive ventilation and length of hospital stay. Results were analyzed after 28 days.

Results: Among 81 patients, 60(74.1%) were males, 21(25.9%) were females. Of these, 44(54.3) received Tocilizumab plus
Standard Care, while 37(45.7%) received Standard Care only. Out of 44 patients from the Tocilizumab-Group, 21(47.7%)
survived, whereas, from 37 in the Standard Care-Group, 15(40.54%) survived at the end of 28 days. However, the difference in survival distributions between the two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.41).

Conclusion: Tocilizumab was found to have no significant impact on improving the chances of survival and reducing the risk of Invasive Ventilation in COVID-19 patients. A wider confidence interval, however, cannot rule out the possibility of some benefit or harm. Hence, further studies are needed on this subject.

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Published

30-10-2023

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Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

1.
Khan S, Atif MM, Asif S, Malik U, Zahoor S, Firdous S. Response of Tocilizumab in Treating Severe to Critical COVID-19; Single-Centre Experience at a Tertiary Care Centre. Pak Armed Forces Med J [Internet]. 2023 Oct. 30 [cited 2025 Apr. 9];73(5):1468-71. Available from: https://pafmj.org/PAFMJ/article/view/7532