In a new study from King’s College London, researchers found that arthritis drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab reduce the risk of death and the need for ventilators among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Among hospitalized COVID patients, using one of the drugs in addition to corticosteroids reduced the death risk by 17%, compared to the use of corticosteroids alone.
In patients who were not on ventilators, the risk of progressing to mechanical ventilation or death was reduced by 21%.
The study findings prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend the use of the medicines, known as IL-6 inhibitors, in addition to corticosteroids among people with severe or critical COVID.
Previous research has found that severely ill COVID patients experience an immune system overreaction known as a “cytokine storm” that can cause severe organ damage and death.
Tocilizumab and sarilumab are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition, by inhibiting the effects of interleukin (IL)-6, a type of protein called a cytokine that signals the body to mount an inflammatory response.
In the study, the team combined data from 27 randomized trials conducted across 28 countries.
Their analysis included information on 10,930 patients, of whom 6,449 were assigned to receive interleukin-6 inhibitors and 4,481 to receive usual care or placebo.
The study also examined the impact of these drugs on whether patients progressed to ventilators or death.
Among patients also given corticosteroids, the risk was found to be 26% for those receiving IL-6 inhibitors compared with an assumed 33% in those receiving usual care.
Tocilizumab and sarilumab, which are given by infusion or injection, are currently recommended for use along with corticosteroids in severe COVID patients by Britain.
The United States also recommends tocilizumab with corticosteroids.
If you care about COVID and drugs, please read studies about this common stomach drug may help fight COVID-19 and findings of these 2 drugs provide new hope to treat COVID-19.
For more information about COVID and your health, please see recent studies about these two anti-inflammatory drugs could boost recovery from severe COVID-19 and results showing that scientists find three drugs as possible treatments for COVID-19.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One author of the study is Manu Shankar-Hari.
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