Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Mar;93(3):1832-1836.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26698. Epub 2020 Dec 17.

Tocilizumab administration is associated with the reduction in biomarkers of coronavirus disease 2019 infection

Timotius Ivan Hariyanto  1 , Andree Kurniawan  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Tocilizumab administration is associated with the reduction in biomarkers of coronavirus disease 2019 infection

Timotius Ivan Hariyanto et al. J Med Virol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a significant impact on all aspects of life, with the number of death cases still increasing. Therefore, identification of potential treatment for reducing the severity of the disease is important. Currently, the data regarding the effectiveness of tocilizumab as treatment agents for COVID-19 infection is still conflicting. This study aims to give clear evidence regarding the potential benefit of tocilizumab in reducing the biomarkers of COVID-19 infection. We systematically searched the PubMed Central database using specific keywords related to our aims until July 24th, 2020. All articles published on COVID-19 and tocilizumab were retrieved. A total of 9 studies with a total of 577 patients were included in our analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that tocilizumab treatment is associated with reduction of C-reactive protein (mean difference [MD]: -106.69 mg/L [95% confidence interval [CI]: -146.90, -66.49 mg/L], p < .00001; I2 = 98%, random-effect modeling), d-dimer (MD: -3.06 mg/L [95% CI: -5.81, -0.31 mg/L], p = .03; I2 = 98%, random-effect modeling), Ferritin (MD: -532.80 ng/ml [95% CI: -810.93, -254.67 ng/ml], p = .0002; I2 = 25%, random-effect modeling), procalcitonin (MD: -0.67 ng/ml [95% CI: -1.13, -0.22 ng/ml], p = .004; I2 = 92%, random-effect modeling], and increment in the levels of lymphocyte count (MD: 0.36 × 103 /μl [95% CI: 0.18, 0.54 × 103 /μl], p < .0001; I2 = 88%, random-effect modeling). Administration of tocilizumab is effective in reducing the biomarkers of the COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus disease 2019; immunomodulator; interleukin-6; tocilizumab.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Forest plot that demonstrates the association of administration of tocilizumab with the levels of (A) CRP, (B) d ‐dimer, (C) ferritin, (D) procalcitonin, and (E) lymphocyte levels in COVID‐19 infection. COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019; CRP, C‐reactive protein
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hariyanto TI, Kurniawan A. Anemia is associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection. Transfus Apher Sci. 2020:102926. 10.1016/j.transci.2020.102926 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hariyanto TI, Kurniawan A. Thyroid disease is associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020;14(5):1429‐1430. 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.07.044 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hariyanto TI, Kurniawan A. Dyslipidemia is associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020;14:1463‐1465. 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.07.054 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Henry BM, de Oliveira MHS, Benoit S, Plebani M, Lippi G. Hematologic, biochemical and immune biomarker abnormalities associated with severe illness and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19): a meta‐analysis. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2020;58(7):1021‐1028. 10.1515/cclm-2020-0369 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang C, Wu Z, Li JW, Zhao H, Wang GQ. Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID‐19: interleukin‐6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab may be the key to reduce mortality. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020;55(5):105954. 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105954 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types