Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34611251›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Tocilizumab reduces COVID-19 mortality and pathology in a dose and timing-dependent fashion: a multi-centric study.

Alejandro Durán-Méndez, Alma Delia Aguilar-Arroyo, Emiliano Vivanco-Gómez, Eduardo Nieto-Ortega, Daniela Pérez-Ortega, Cristian Jiménez-Pérez, Karla Y Hernández-Skewes, Guillermo Montiel-Bravo, Oscar J Roque-Reyes, Fernanda Romero-Lechuga and 18 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

23 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Current and novel biomarkers in cardiogenic shock.European journal of heart failure · 2025
    Review
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  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Infectious Complications After Tocilizumab in Patients with COVID: A Real-World Experience.Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives · 2023
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
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

28 authors.

Alejandro Durán-MéndezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0002-8746-6553
Alma Delia Aguilar-ArroyoLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Emiliano Vivanco-GómezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Eduardo Nieto-OrtegaLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0003-0825-0525
Daniela Pérez-OrtegaLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Cristian Jiménez-PérezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Karla Y Hernández-SkewesLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Guillermo Montiel-BravoLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Oscar J Roque-ReyesLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Fernanda Romero-LechugaLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Diana Medina-SantosLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Perla Oriana-RománLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Jorge Rafael Flores-HernándezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Juan Daniel Méndez-CocaLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Daniela Montaño-OlmosLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Karla Cecilia Farfán-LazosLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Miranda Tobón-CubillosLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
América Viveros-HernándezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Fernando Sevilla-CastilloLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Ángel Raúl Hernández-RomeroLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Shannat Ortega-RodríguezLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Aldo Christiaan Jardínez-VeraEscuela Superior de Apan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carretera Apan-Calpulalpan s/n, Colonia, 43920, Chimalpa Tlalayote, Hgo, Mexico.
María Antonieta Solís-GonzálezCentro de Investigación en Cirugía Global, Hospital Español, Veracruz, Mexico.
Antonio Ramos de la MedinaCentro de Investigación en Cirugía Global, Hospital Español, Veracruz, Mexico.
Laura Martínez Pérez-MaldonadoCentro de Investigación en Cirugía Global, Hospital Español, Veracruz, Mexico.
Elizabeth Lagunes-LaraCentro de Investigación en Cirugía Global, Hospital Español, Veracruz, Mexico.
Miguel Cova-BonillaEscuela Superior de Apan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carretera Apan-Calpulalpan s/n, Colonia, 43920, Chimalpa Tlalayote, Hgo, Mexico.
Alberto N PeónLaboratorio Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sociedad Española de Beneficencia, Av. Juárez #908, Col. La Villita, CP42060, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. investigacion@benepachuca.com.ORCID 0000-0001-6951-2248

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Life-threatening COVID-19 is associated with strong inflammation, where an IL-6-driven cytokine storm appears to be a cornerstone for enhanced pathology. Nonetheless, the specific inhibition of such pathway has shown mixed outcomes. This could be due to variations in the dose of tocilizumab used, the stage in which the drug is administered or the severity of disease presentation. Thus, we performed a retrospective multicentric study in 140 patients with moderate to critical COVID-19, 79 of which received tocilizumab in variable standard doses (< 400 mg, 400-800 mg or > 800 mg), either at the viral (1-7 days post-symptom onset), early inflammatory (8-15) or late inflammatory (16 or more) stages, and compared it with standard treated patients. Mortality, reduced respiratory support requirements and pathology markers were measured. Tocilizumab significantly reduced the respiratory support requirements (OR 2.71, CI 1.37-4.85 at 95%) and inflammatory markers (OR 4.82, CI 1.4-15.8) of all patients, but mortality was only reduced (4.1% vs 25.7%, p = 0.03) when the drug was administered at the early inflammatory stage and in doses ranging 400-800 mg in severely-ill patients. Despite the apparent inability of Tocilizumab to prevent the progression of COVID-19 into a critical presentation, severely-ill patients may be benefited by its use in the early inflammatory stage and moderate doses.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Drug TreatmentAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedCOVID-19C-Reactive ProteinDose-Response Relationship, DrugFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation ProductsHumansOdds RatioRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexSurvival AnalysisSurvival RateAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedC-Reactive ProteinFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Productsfibrin fragment Dtocilizumab

Identifiers

PMID34611251
PMCPMC8492686

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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.