Beneficial of adding Tocilizumab to standard care in critical forms of Covid-19: Study on paired series

Abstract We designed a comparative study on two paired series of critical patients affected with Covid-19: the 1st group received Tocilizumab (TCZ) plus standard care (SC) versus a 2nd group which received only SC. Outcomes were: survival, mechanical ventilation (MV) and nosocomial infections. Ninety patients were included by pairing (n=45 in each group). 55.5% of SC group progressed to stage 3-acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) versus 31% of TCZ+SC patients (p=0.03). No effect of TCZ was found on mortality (49% in each group, p=1) nor on MV use (p=0.67). ICU stay was more prolonged in TCZ+SC group (16 versus 8 days, p <10-3). The administration of TCZ induced a significant decrease in CRP but not changed the IL-6 dosage. Nosocomial infections occurred in 18 (40%) of TCZ+SC group comparatively to 15 (33,5%) of SC group, p=0.66. We concluded to no real clinical impact benefit of TCZ in this kind of patients.