Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32290839›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2020

Why tocilizumab could be an effective treatment for severe COVID-19?

Binqing Fu, Xiaoling Xu, Haiming Wei

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readLetter
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04598334 (Investigating the Inflammatory Cytokines and Cytokine Storm Among Bangladeshi Patients With COVID-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 260 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
260citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
11.1field-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.

NCT04598334 unknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Investigating the Inflammatory Cytokines and Cytokine Storm Among Bangladeshi Patients With COVID-19: a Prospective, Observational Study

TypeobservationalSponsorInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, BangladeshRan2022 to 2022Enrolled75ConditionsCytokine Storm, COVID-19
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

260 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 453 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. 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
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  14. 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
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  20. NLRP3 Inflammasomes: Dual Function in Infectious Diseases.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2024
    Review

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

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Binqing FuInstitute of Immunology and the CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Life Science and Medical Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, China.
Xiaoling XuThe First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, China.
Haiming WeiInstitute of Immunology and the CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Life Science and Medical Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, China. ustcwhm@ustc.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-1675-6502
University of Science and Technology of China · CN

Funding

the China National Center for Biotechnology Development 182 2020YFC0843800the Natural Science Foundation of China 81788101the Natural Science Foundation of China 81922028Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences 2019442
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A severe pneumonia-associated respiratory syndrome caused by a new coronavirus was identified in December 2019 (COVID-19), spread rapidly and has become a world-wide public health challenge. About 25% of COVID-19 patients experienced severe complications including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and even progressed into an intensive care unit (ICU) admission and died. The exploration for the mortality causes and advancing novel therapeutic development of severe COVID-19 is crucial at the moment. The biopsy samples analysis at autopsy suggested that increased alveolar exudate caused by aberrant host immune response and inflammatory cytokine storm probably impedes alveolar gas exchange and contributes to the high mortality of severe COVID-19 patients. Our research has identified that pathogenic T cells and inflammatory monocytes incite inflammatory storm with large amount of interleukin 6, therefore monoclonal antibody that targets the IL-6 pathways may potentially curb inflammatory storm. Moreover, Tocilizumab treatment that blocking IL-6 receptors showed inspiring clinical results including temperature returned to normal quickly and respiratory function improved. Therefore, we suggest that Tocilizumab is an effective treatment in severe patients of COVID-19 to calm the inflammatory storm and reduce mortality.

Indexed as

BetacoronavirusAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentHumansInterleukin-6Interleukin-6 InhibitorsPandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedIL6 protein, humanInterleukin-6Interleukin-6 InhibitorstocilizumabAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)COVID-19IL-6Inflammatory stormSARS-CoV-2Tocilizumab

Identifiers

PMID32290839
PMCPMC7154566
OpenAlexW3015522797

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.