Trial reportPloS one2022
Timely administration of tocilizumab improves outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessment of the available therapeutic approaches for severe COVID-19: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Interleukin-6 blocking agents for treating COVID-19: a living systematic review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab versus standard care/placebo in patients with COVID-19; a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of baricitinib and tocilizumab in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A comparison using systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Can the Early Warning Score (ANDC) Predict Tocilizumab Efficacy in Patients with COVID-19 Cytokine Storm?European journal of rheumatology · 2025Article
- Weathering the Storm: How Age and Biologics Influence the COVID-19 Cytokine Surge.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- COVID-19: A Disease Driven by Protease/Antiprotease Imbalance? A Specific Review Five Years into the Pandemic.Infection and drug resistance · 2025Review
- Healthcare Access and County-Level COVID-19 Mortality: Exploring the Impact of Hospital Proximity and Uninsurance Rates.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Over but not gone: lingering epigenetic effects of COVID-19.Trends in immunology · 2023Article
- Cost-effectiveness of therapeutics for COVID-19 patients: a rapid review and economic analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2023Review
- Identification of Clinical Response Predictors of Tocilizumab Treatment in Patients with Severe COVID-19 Based on Single-Center Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Correlates of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Inpatient Mortality at a Southern California Community Hospital With a Predominantly Hispanic/Latino Adult Population.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Article
- Efficacy and safety of IL-6 inhibitors in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of multicentre, randomized trials.Annals of intensive care · 2021Article
- Japanese rapid/living recommendations on drug management for COVID-19: updated guidelines (September 2021).Acute medicine & surgeryArticle
- Japanese rapid/living recommendations on drug management for COVID-19: updated guidelines (July 2022).Acute medicine & surgeryArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
29 authors at 12 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of early tocilizumab treatment for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 disease.
methodsOpen-label randomized phase II clinical trial investigating tocilizumab in patients with proven COVID-19 admitted to the general ward and in need of supplemental oxygen. The primary endpoint of the study was 30-day mortality with a prespecified 2-sided significance level of α = 0.10. A post-hoc analysis was performed for a combined endpoint of mechanical ventilation or death at 30 days. Secondary objectives included comparing the duration of hospital stay, ICU admittance and duration of ICU stay and the duration of mechanical ventilation.
resultsA total of 354 patients (67% men; median age 66 years) were enrolled of whom 88% received dexamethasone. Thirty-day mortality was 19% (95% CI 14%-26%) in the standard arm versus 12% (95% CI: 8%-18%) in the tocilizumab arm, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.62 (90% CI 0.39-0.98; p = 0.086). 17% of patients were admitted to the ICU in each arm (p = 0.89). The median stay in the ICU was 14 days (IQR 9-28) in the standard arm versus 9 days (IQR 5-14) in the tocilizumab arm (p = 0.014). Mechanical ventilation or death at thirty days was 31% (95% CI 24%-38%) in the standard arm versus 21% (95% CI 16%-28%) in the tocilizumab arm, HR = 0.65 (95% CI 0.42-0.98; p = 0.042).
conclusionsThis randomized phase II study supports efficacy for tocilizumab when given early in the disease course in hospitalized patients who need oxygen support, especially when concomitantly treated with dexamethasone.
trial registrationhttps://www.trialregister.nl/trial/8504.
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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.