SynthesisEmerging microbes & infections2022
Clinical efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists (tocilizumab and sarilumab) in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Emerging microbes & infections, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interleukin-6 blocking agents for treating COVID-19: a living systematic review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of anti-inflammatory drugs on the storm of inflammatory factors in respiratory tract infection caused by SARS-CoV-2: an updated meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19: An umbrella review.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Impact of a Research Integrity Assessment (RIA) of Randomized Controlled Trials Included in Interventional COVID-19 Systematic Reviews: A Meta-Epidemiological Study.Cochrane evidence synthesis and methods · 2026Article
- Benefit and risk associated with interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor administration during severe COVID-19: a retrospective multicentric study.Scientific reports · 2026Observational
- Interleukin-6 drives endothelial glycocalyx damage in COVID-19 and bacterial sepsis.Angiogenesis · 2024Observational
- Review
- The association between tocilizumab therapy and the development of thrombosis in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a multicenter, cohort study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Effect of Anti-Interleukin-6 Agents on Psychopathology in a Sample of Patients with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: An Observational Study.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- An exploratory analysis of associations of genetic variation with the efficacy of tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 patients. A pharmacogenetic study based on next-generation sequencing.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Possible mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-associated myocardial fibrosis: reflections in the post-pandemic era.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Detection of potential safety signals related to the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab in the COVID era during pregnancy, resorting to open data from the FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS).Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- The Immunobiological Agents for Treatment of Antiglomerular Basement Membrane Disease.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in adult patients admitted to intensive care unit with COVID-19: A systematic review andPreventive medicine reports · 2023Review
- Two Years of Experience and Methodology of Korean COVID-19 Living Clinical Practice Guideline Development.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023Article
- Clinical Disease Characteristics and Treatment Trajectories Associated with Mortality among COVID-19 Patients in Punjab, Pakistan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A Prospective Cohort Study of COVID-19: Evaluation of the Early Role of IL-1 and IL-6 Antagonists in Improving the Outcome of the Illness and Reduction in the Risk of Death.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Clinical Consequences for Individuals Treated with Tocilizumab for Serious COVID-19 Infection.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- [Should we interfere with the interleukin-6 receptor during COVID-19: What do we know?]Revue des maladies respiratoires · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study investigated the efficacy and safety of interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonists with standard care treatment in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The randomized controlled trials were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases through February 10, 2022. In total, 17 trials comprising 8,614 patients were included. Compared with exclusive standard care or placebo, IL-6 receptor antagonists with standard of care treatment were associated with a significantly reduced all-cause mortality at 28 days (pooled risk ratios [RR], 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82-0.95; 17 studies) and progression to invasive mechanical ventilation (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.71-0.88; nine studies). Particularly, the subgroup of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 showed a significant mortality benefit (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.96; four studies) and a reduced risk for mechanical ventilation (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.70-0.91; three studies) with tocilizumab treatment. The frequency of serious adverse events was lower in the tocilizumab treatment group than in the standard of care treatment group (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.97; 11 studies), with no significant difference in the sarilumab treatment group (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.89-1.40; four studies). Our meta-analysis demonstrated that tocilizumab treatment showed promising results in reducing 28-day mortality and progression to mechanical ventilation in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19, without the burden of serious adverse events.
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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.