SynthesisPulmonology
Rationale and evidence on the use of tocilizumab in COVID-19: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Pulmonology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 179 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Ibrutinib for Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: A Systematic Review.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals with sickle cell disease: an integrative review.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists (tocilizumab and sarilumab) in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Emerging microbes & infections · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19: An umbrella review.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and harms of tocilizumab for the treatment of COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Tocilizumab on Adults With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Update of the recommendations of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Cuidados Intensivos and the Infection and Sepsis Group for the approach to COVID-19 in Intensive Care Medicine.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaPooled it
- Trial
- Navigating Therapeutic Frontiers: A Meta-review and Meta-analysis of COVID-19 Treatment Options.Journal of research in pharmacy practice · 2026Review
- Trajectories and predictive significance of inflammatory parameters for clinical outcome in COVID-19 patients treated with tocilizumab.Infection · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact of FCGR2A rs1801274 and IL-6R rs2228145 polymorphisms on tocilizumab response in the Iranian population with severe COVID-19.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Does timing of tocilizumab administration affect mortality in COVID-19? A Scottish multicentre retrospective cohort study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Observational
- The microcirculation in the first days of ICU admission in critically ill COVID-19 patients is influenced by severity of disease.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Identification of novel SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors by molecular docking,Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Immunomodulatory approaches in managing lung inflammation in COVID-19: A double-edge sword.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2023Review
- The role of SARS-COV-2 infection in promoting abnormal immune response and sepsis: A comparison between SARS-COV-2-related sepsis and sepsis from other causes.Infectious medicine · 2023Article
- Safe and Efficient Use of Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient on Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Case Report.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Extension of Lung Damage at Chest Computed Tomography in Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients Treated with Interleukin-6 Receptor Blockers Correlates with Inflammatory Cytokines Production and Prognosis.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2023Article
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTocilizumab is an IL-6 receptor-blocking agent proposed for the treatment of severe COVID-19. The aim of this systematic review was to describe the rationale for the use of tocilizumab for the treatment of COVID-19 and to summarize the available evidence regarding its efficacy and safety.
methodsMEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, pre-print repositories (bioRxiv and medRxiv) and two trial Registries were searched for studies on the use of tocilizumab in COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral pneumonia, and/or sepsis until 20th June 2020.
resultsWe identified 3 indirect pre-clinical studies and 28 clinical studies including 5776 patients with COVID-19 (13 with a comparison group, 15 single-arm). To date, no randomized trials have been published. We retrieved no studies at low risk of bias. Forty-five ongoing studies were retrieved from trial registries.
conclusionsThere is insufficient evidence regarding the clinical efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in patients with COVID-19. Its use should be considered experimental, requiring ethical approval and clinical trial oversight.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.