Effects of Tocilizumab on Adults With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a worldwide disaster, has already affected lots of people. Effective care and therapy are currently being evaluated in full swing. PURPOSE: Our purpose was to investigate the effects of tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor, on treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. DATA SOURCES, STUDY SELECTION, AND DATA EXTRACTION: We conducted a meta-analysis and searched for relevant studies on Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library without restrictions on language from inception until February 1, 2021. Fifteen studies were included for this meta-analysis. Two authors independently selected and screened these studies, assessed the quality of included studies, and extracted related information. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. The main studies showed that tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality (risk ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.46–0.83; and hazard ratio = 0.61, 95% confidence interval = 0.51–0.72). Using tocilizumab might also affect biochemistry indicators (lowered C-reactive protein and ferritin, increased lymphocyte count). CONCLUSION: These current bodies of evidence could indicate that early use of tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality in adult patients with COVID-19. Early use of tocilizumab could reduce the mortality rate of adult patients with COVID-19 without obvious fatal side effects, which may be a treatment option in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (ID:242811).