ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: No therapy has yet proven effective in COVID-19. Tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with severe COVID-19 could be an effective treatment. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective case-control study in the Nord Franche-Comté Hospital, France. We compared the outcome of patients treated with TCZ and patients without TCZ considering a combined primary endpoint: death and/or ICU admissions. RESULTS: Patients with TCZ (n=20) had a higher Charlson comorbidity index (5.3 [±2.4] vs 3.4 [±2.6], P=0.014), presented with more severe forms (higher level of oxygen therapy at 13L/min vs 6L/min, P<0.001), and had poorer biological findings (severe lymphopenia: 676/mm3 vs 914/mm3, P=0.037 and higher CRP level: 158mg/L vs 105mg/L, P=0.017) than patients without TCZ (n=25). However, death and/or ICU admissions were higher in patients without TCZ than in the TCZ group (72% vs 25%, P=0.002). CONCLUSION: Despite the small sample size and retrospective nature of the work, this result strongly suggests that TCZ may reduce the number of ICU admissions and/or mortality in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/mortality , Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data , Patient Admission/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/mortality , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Betacoronavirus/immunology , COVID-19 , Case-Control Studies , Comorbidity , Coronavirus Infections/pathology , Critical Illness/epidemiology , Critical Illness/mortality , Female , France/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mortality , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/pathology , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness Index , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Medical publications about anosmia with COVID-19 are scarce. We aimed to describe the prevalence and features of anosmia in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We retrospectively included COVID-19 patients with anosmia between March 1st and March 17th, 2020. We used SARS-CoV-2 real time PCR in respiratory samples to confirm the cases. RESULTS: Fifty-four of 114 patients (47%) with confirmed COVID-19 reported anosmia. Mean age of the 54 patients was 47 (±16) years; 67% were females and 37% were hospitalised. The median Charlson comorbidity index was 0.70 (±1.6 [0-7]). Forty-six patients (85%) had dysgeusia and 28% presented with pneumonia. Anosmia began 4.4 (±1.9 [1-8]) days after infection onset. The mean duration of anosmia was 8.9 (±6.3 [1-21]) days and 98% of patients recovered within 28 days. CONCLUSIONS: Anosmia was present in half of our European COVID-19 patients and was often associated with dysgeusia.