ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2020
Effective treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with tocilizumab.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 1,565 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Efficacy and Safety of Tocilizumab in the Treatment of Patients With Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Cytokine Release Syndrome Secondary to COVID-19: a Proof of Concept Study
A Nested Interventional Cohort Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Adjunctive Humanized Monoclonal Interleukin-6 Receptor Blocker Tocilizumab (TCZ) Therapy to Standard of Care for the Reduction of Hyperinflammation Related Mortality in SARS-Cov2 Positive Patients
Role of Investigational Therapies Alone or in Combination to Treat Moderate, Severe and Critical COVID-19
Who cites it
1,565 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 2,771 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19: An umbrella review.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 and the Immune Response: A Multi-Phasic Approach to the Treatment of COVID-19.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Cellular immunotherapy for COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome: Results of the CIRCA-19 phase 1 safety and phase 2 randomized controlled trials.Stem cell reports · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness and safety of cyclosporine A in moderate to severe COVID-19: a randomized, open-label trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Pembrolizumab in combination with tocilizumab in high-risk hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (COPERNICO): A randomized proof-of-concept phase II study.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Trial
- 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 · 2022Trial
- Effect of Molnupiravir on Biomarkers, Respiratory Interventions, and Medical Services in COVID-19 : A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Annals of internal medicine · 2022Trial
- Munc13-4-STX7 inhibitors impair endosomal TLR activation and systemic inflammation.Nature chemical biology · 2026Article
- 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 · 2026Article
- Lysosome self-sorting nanodegraders for hepatic clearance of pathogenic serum mediators.Nature nanotechnology · 2026Article
- Drug Repurposing as a Broad-Spectrum Strategy Against Coronaviruses: Frontiers in Mechanisms and Clinical Translation.Viruses · 2026Review
- Molecular Roadmap of COVID-19: From Viral Entry to Therapeutic Targets.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Review
- Article
- Unraveling the Mystery: COVID-19 and Diabetic Complications - A Journey from Pathophysiology to Treatment.Current diabetes reviews · 2026Review
- Increase of Inhibitory Siglec receptors on T cells mitigates severe immune reactions during acute viral infections.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- Dexamethasone chronotherapy of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care unit: an exploratory study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Immunomodulation via Collagen-Polyvinylpyrrolidone or Pirfenidone Plays a Role in the Recovery of Patients with Severe COVID-19 Through Similar Mechanisms of Action Involving the JAK/STAT Signalling Pathway: A Pilot Study.Advances in respiratory medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring the potential mechanisms of m6A modification in septic acute respiratory distress syndrome: a bioinformatics analysis.Hereditas · 2025Article
1,505 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
After analyzing the immune characteristics of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we have identified that pathogenic T cells and inflammatory monocytes with large amount of interleukin 6 secreting may incite the inflammatory storm, which may potentially be curbed through monoclonal antibody that targets the IL-6 pathways. Here, we aimed to assess the efficacy of tocilizumab in severe patients with COVID-19 and seek a therapeutic strategy. The patients diagnosed as severe or critical COVID-19 in The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (Anhui Provincial Hospital) and Anhui Fuyang Second People's Hospital were given tocilizumab in addition to routine therapy between 5 and 14 February 2020. The changes of clinical manifestations, computerized tomography (CT) scan image, and laboratory examinations were retrospectively analyzed. Fever returned to normal on the first day, and other symptoms improved remarkably within a few days. Within 5 d after tocilizumab, 15 of the 20 patients (75.0%) had lowered their oxygen intake, and 1 patient needed no oxygen therapy. CT scans manifested that the lung lesion opacity absorbed in 19 patients (90.5%). The percentage of lymphocytes in peripheral blood, which decreased in 85.0% of patients (17/20) before treatment (mean, 15.52 ± 8.89%), returned to normal in 52.6% of patients (10/19) on the fifth day after treatment. Abnormally elevated C-reactive protein decreased significantly in 84.2% of patients (16/19). No obvious adverse reactions were observed. All patients have been discharged on average 15.1 d after giving tocilizumab. Preliminary data show that tocilizumab, which improved the clinical outcome immediately in severe and critical COVID-19 patients, is an effective treatment to reduce mortality.
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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.