Hospitalized COVID-19 patients given the anti-inflammatory monoclonal antibody tocilizumab were less likely to die or require invasive mechanical ventilation, according to preliminary results of the UK RECOVERY trial posted today on the medRxiv preprint server.Led by University of Oxford researchers, the ongoing Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial involved assigning 4,116 severely ill coronavirus patients to receive either intravenous tocilizumab, a rheumatoid arthritis drug, or usual care.
Most (82%) of the participants also received a systemic corticosteroid such as dexamethasone.Higher odds of leaving the hospital aliveOf the 2,022 patients receiving tocilizumab from Apr 23, 2020, to Jan 25, 2021, 596 (29%) died