Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32253759›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical virology2020

Tocilizumab treatment in COVID-19: A single center experience.

Pan Luo, Yi Liu, Lin Qiu, Xiulan Liu, Dong Liu, Juan Li

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical virology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 737 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
737citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
31.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

737 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,288 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Guideline
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Tocilizumab and Systemic Corticosteroids in the Management of Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
    Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
  11. Efficacy and Safety of Sarilumab in Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022
    Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Investigating the Short-Term Changes of the Electrocardiogram Indicators During Hospitalization in Patients With COVID-19 Following the Use of Tocilizumab.Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Observational
  20. Article

677 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Pan LuoDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Yi LiuDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Lin QiuDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Xiulan LiuDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Dong LiuDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Juan LiDepartment of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0002-5829-5142
Tongji Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tocilizumab (TCZ), a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 (IL-6), emerged as an alternative treatment for COVID-19 patients with a risk of cytokine storms recently. In the present study, we aimed to discuss the treatment response of TCZ therapy in COVID-19 infected patients. The demographic, treatment, laboratory parameters of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6 before and after TCZ therapy and clinical outcome in the 15 COVID-19 patients were retrospectively assessed. Totally 15 patients with COVID-19 were included in this study. Two of them were moderately ill, six were seriously ill and seven were critically ill. The TCZ was used in combination with methylprednisolone in eight patients. Five patients received the TCZ administration twice or more. Although TCZ treatment ameliorated the increased CRP in all patients rapidly, for the four critically ill patients who received an only single dose of TCZ, three of them (No. 1, 2, and 3) still dead and the CRP level in the rest one patient (No. 7) failed to return to normal range with a clinical outcome of disease aggravation. Serum IL-6 level tended to further spiked firstly and then decreased after TCZ therapy in 10 patients. A persistent and dramatic increase of IL-6 was observed in these four patients who failed treatment. TCZ appears to be an effective treatment option in COVID-19 patients with a risk of cytokine storms. And for these critically ill patients with elevated IL-6, the repeated dose of the TCZ is recommended.

Indexed as

Disease OutbreaksAgedAged, 80 and overAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedBetacoronavirusBiomarkersChinaCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19C-Reactive ProteinDrug Administration ScheduleDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansImmunologic FactorsInterleukin-6Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedBiomarkersC-Reactive ProteinIL6 protein, humanImmunologic FactorsInterleukin-6MethylprednisolonetocilizumabCOVID-19cytokine stormsinterleukin-6SARS-CoV-2Tocilizumab

Identifiers

PMID32253759
PMCPMC7262125
OpenAlexW3014333693

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.