Interleukin-6 receptor blockade in patients with COVID-19: placing clinical trials into context.

ABSTRACT: The pleiotropic cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, but uncertainty remains about the potential benefits and harms of targeting IL-6 signalling in patients with the disease. The efficacy and safety of tocilizumab and sarilumab, which block the binding of IL-6 to its receptor, have been tested in adults with COVID-19-related acute respiratory illness in randomised trials, with important differences in trial design, characteristics of included patients, use of co-interventions, and outcome measurement scales. In this Series paper, we review the clinical and methodological heterogeneity of studies of IL-6 receptor antagonists, and consider how this heterogeneity might have influenced reported treatment effects. Timing from clinical presentation t

SUBMITTER: Angriman F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8078877 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature