Effective treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with tocilizumab [View all]

[Yonnie3]

There have been a couple of posts about this drug on DU.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213269685
Experimental drug Actemra (tocilizumab) may help with the cytokine storm from COVID-19

and

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213350856
Case Study: Patient with COVID-19 and Multiple Myeloma successfully treated with Tocilizumab

I found this published today via this tweet

Link to tweet

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/27/2005615117#T1

<snip>
Treatment Outcomes.

The body temperature of all patients dramatically returned to normal on the first day after receiving tocilizumab and remained stable thereafter (Fig. 2B). Clinical symptoms were significantly relieved synchronously in the following days. The peripheral oxygen saturation improved remarkably (Fig. 2 C and D). Fifteen patients (15/20, 75.0%) had lowered their oxygen intake within 5 d after the treatment with tocilizumab. Among these patients, one patient did not need further oxygen therapy. Among the three patients who used ventilator, one patient was taken off the noninvasive ventilator on the first day after tocilizumab, one patient had tracheal extubated and regained consciousness on the fifth day and another one on the eleventh day.

<snip>

Conclusion

In summary, tocilizumab effectively improve clinical symptoms and represses the deterioration of severe COVID-19 patients. Therefore, tocilizumab is an effective treatment in severe patients of COVID-19, which provided a therapeutic strategy for this fatal infectious disease.

<snip>

From a quick skim of the paper there seems to be a profound positive effect.