tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Chest
. 2020 Oct 16;S0012-3692(20)34901-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.09.275. Online ahead of print.
Comparative Survival Analysis of Immunomodulatory Therapy for COVID-19 'Cytokine Storm'
Sonali Narain[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dimitre G Stefanov[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alice S Chau[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Andrew G Weber[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Galina Marder[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Blanka Kaplan[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Prashant Malhotra[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Ona Bloom[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Audrey Liu[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Martin L Lesser[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Negin Hajizadeh[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Northwell COVID-19 Research Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Cytokine storm is a marker of COVID-19 illness severity and increased mortality. Immunomodulatory treatments have been repurposed to improve mortality outcomes.
Research question: To identify if immunomodulatory therapies improve survival in patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm.
Study design and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic health records across the Northwell Health system. COVID-19 patients hospitalized between March 1, 2020 and April 24, 2020 were included. Cytokine storm was defined by inflammatory markers: ferritin >700ng/mL, C-reactive protein >30mg/dL or lactate dehydrogenase >300U/L. Patients were subdivided into six groups-no immunomodulatory treatment (standard of care) and five groups that received either corticosteroids, anti-interleukin 6 antibody (tocilizumab) or anti-interleukin-1 therapy (anakinra) alone or in combination with corticosteroids. The primary outcome was hospital mortality.
Results: 5,776 patients met the inclusion criteria. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (44-59%), diabetes (32-46%) and cardiovascular disease (5-14%). Patients most frequently met criteria with high lactate dehydrogenase (76.2%) alone or in combination, followed by ferritin (63.2%) and C-reactive protein (8.4%). More than 80% of patients had an elevated D-dimer. Patients treated with corticosteroids and tocilizumab combination had lower mortality compared to standard of care (Hazard Ratio (HR):0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35-0.55; p<0.0001) and when compared to corticosteroids alone (HR:0.66, 95%CI: 0.53-0.83; p-value=0.004), or in combination with anakinra (HR:0.64, 95%CI:0.50-0.81; p-value=0.003) . Corticosteroids when administered alone (HR:0.66, 95%CI:0.57-0.76; p<0.0001) or in combination with tocilizumab (HR:0.43, 95%CI:0.35-0.55; p<0.0001) or anakinra (HR:0.68, 95%CI:0.57-0.81; p<0.0001) improved hospital survival compared to standard of care.
Interpretation: The combination of corticosteroids with tocilizumab had superior survival outcome when compared to standard of care and corticosteroids alone or in combination with anakinra. Furthermore, corticosteroid use either alone or in combination with tocilizumab or anakinra was associated with reduced hospital mortality for patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm compared to standard of care.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; anakinra; coronavirus; corticosteroids; infection; tocilizumab.
. 2020 Oct 16;S0012-3692(20)34901-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.09.275. Online ahead of print.
Comparative Survival Analysis of Immunomodulatory Therapy for COVID-19 'Cytokine Storm'
Sonali Narain[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dimitre G Stefanov[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alice S Chau[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Andrew G Weber[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Galina Marder[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Blanka Kaplan[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Prashant Malhotra[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Ona Bloom[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Audrey Liu[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Martin L Lesser[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Negin Hajizadeh[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Northwell COVID-19 Research Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations
- PMID: 33075378
- PMCID: PMC7567703
- DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.09.275
Abstract
Background: Cytokine storm is a marker of COVID-19 illness severity and increased mortality. Immunomodulatory treatments have been repurposed to improve mortality outcomes.
Research question: To identify if immunomodulatory therapies improve survival in patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm.
Study design and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic health records across the Northwell Health system. COVID-19 patients hospitalized between March 1, 2020 and April 24, 2020 were included. Cytokine storm was defined by inflammatory markers: ferritin >700ng/mL, C-reactive protein >30mg/dL or lactate dehydrogenase >300U/L. Patients were subdivided into six groups-no immunomodulatory treatment (standard of care) and five groups that received either corticosteroids, anti-interleukin 6 antibody (tocilizumab) or anti-interleukin-1 therapy (anakinra) alone or in combination with corticosteroids. The primary outcome was hospital mortality.
Results: 5,776 patients met the inclusion criteria. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (44-59%), diabetes (32-46%) and cardiovascular disease (5-14%). Patients most frequently met criteria with high lactate dehydrogenase (76.2%) alone or in combination, followed by ferritin (63.2%) and C-reactive protein (8.4%). More than 80% of patients had an elevated D-dimer. Patients treated with corticosteroids and tocilizumab combination had lower mortality compared to standard of care (Hazard Ratio (HR):0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35-0.55; p<0.0001) and when compared to corticosteroids alone (HR:0.66, 95%CI: 0.53-0.83; p-value=0.004), or in combination with anakinra (HR:0.64, 95%CI:0.50-0.81; p-value=0.003) . Corticosteroids when administered alone (HR:0.66, 95%CI:0.57-0.76; p<0.0001) or in combination with tocilizumab (HR:0.43, 95%CI:0.35-0.55; p<0.0001) or anakinra (HR:0.68, 95%CI:0.57-0.81; p<0.0001) improved hospital survival compared to standard of care.
Interpretation: The combination of corticosteroids with tocilizumab had superior survival outcome when compared to standard of care and corticosteroids alone or in combination with anakinra. Furthermore, corticosteroid use either alone or in combination with tocilizumab or anakinra was associated with reduced hospital mortality for patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm compared to standard of care.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; anakinra; coronavirus; corticosteroids; infection; tocilizumab.