Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33812260›Full record

SynthesisInternational immunopharmacology2021

The effect of tocilizumab on COVID-19 patient mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Wei-Ting Lin, Shun-Hsing Hung, Chih-Cheng Lai, Cheng-Yi Wang, Chao-Hsien Chen

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International immunopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Wei-Ting LinDepartment of Orthopedic, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan 71004, Taiwan.
Shun-Hsing HungDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, Chi-Mei Hospital, Chia Li, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chih-Cheng LaiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Tainan Branch, Tainan, Taiwan.
Cheng-Yi WangDepartment of Internal Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Chao-Hsien ChenDivision of Pulmonary, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Electronic address: stardust.macaque@gmail.com.
Chi Mei Medical Center · TWCardinal Tien Hospital · TWKaohsiung Veterans General Hospital · TWMackay Memorial Hospital · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of tocilizumab for treating patients with COVID-19.

methodsThe PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Clinicaltrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and the preprint server of medRxiv.org were searched from their inception to February 20, 2021. Only RCTs that compared the treatment efficacy and safety of tocilizumab with the placebo or the standard of care for adult patients with COVID-19 were included in this meta-analysis. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality.

resultsThis meta-analysis included eight RCTs which enrolled a total of 6314 patients for randomization, in which 3267 and 3047 patients were assigned to the tocilizumab and control groups, respectively. The mortality at day 28 was 24.4% and 29.9% in patients in the tocilizumab and control groups, respectively, meaning there was no significant difference observed between these two groups (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66-1.28; I

conclusionsTocilizumab does not provide a survival benefit for patients with COVID-19, but it may help reduce the risk of MV and ICU admission. In addition, tocilizumab is a safe agent to use for the treatment of COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Drug TreatmentAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedCOVID-19HumansSARS-CoV-2Treatment OutcomeAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedtocilizumabCOVID-19MortalitySARS-CoV-2Tocilizumab

Identifiers

PMID33812260
PMCPMC7988468
OpenAlexW3137909142

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.