Efficacy of Tocilizumab in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Followed in the Intensive Care Unit.

Objective: In this retrospective and cross-sectional study, it was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment in critical COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) and developed cytokine storm. Materials and Methods: The study included 219 critically ill COVID-19 patients followed in the ICU and treated with TCZ. All patients received 2 doses of 400 mg/day TCZ treatment during their stay in the ICU. Clinical conditions, laboratory data, inotrope requirement and chest radiographs before and after TCZ treatment were compared. Mortality rates at the 7th day, 28th day and total mortality rates of the patients were recorded. Results: It was observed that there was a significant decrease in CRP values over time after TCZ treatment. There was a significant increase in leukocyte, lymphocyte, lactate, urea, creatinine, AST, D-dimer, LDH and PCT values. The 7-day mortality of the patients was 21%, the 28-day mortality was 64.8%, and the total mortality rate was 65.3%. Conclusion: It was determined that after TCZ treatment, only CRP levels, which are among the inflammatory parameters, decreased significantly in patients, and the mortality rates were still high with the increase in the values of kidney and liver function tests of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]