The association of interleukin‐6 value, interleukin inhibitors, and outcomes of patients with COVID‐19 in New York City

• Published in: Journal of Medical Virology 2021-01, Vol.93 (1), p.463-471
• Main Authors: Maeda, Tetsuro, Obata, Reiichiro, Rizk DO, Dahlia, Kuno, Toshiki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Cohort Studies; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - drug therapy; Cytokines; Diabetes mellitus; Dimers; Female; Heart diseases; Humans; Hypertension; Immunosuppressive agents; Inhibitors; intensive care unit; Interleukin-6 - antagonists & inhibitors; Interleukin-6 - blood; Interleukins; interleukin‐6; invasive mechanical ventilation; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Mortality; Multivariate Analysis; New York; Odds Ratio; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; tocilizumab; Viral diseases; Virology
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26365

Since cytokine release syndrome with elevation of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is considered to be associated with severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19); IL‐6 inhibitors, such as tocilizumab, are expected to be effective for its treatment. This was a retrospective study using a consecutive cohort of 224 patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 in March 2020. Patients were divided into those admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU group) and those not (no ICU group), and clinical data including usage of tocilizumab were compared. Correlation between IL‐6 value at admission and at peak, and tocilizumab use, as well as clinical outcomes were also investigated. The ICU group had higher rates of pre‐existing comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary disease, and higher IL‐6 than no ICU group (all P