Pneumatosis Intestinalis in the Setting of COVID-19: A Single Center Case Series From New York.
Front Med (Lausanne)
; 8: 638075, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1278408
ABSTRACT
This case series reviews four critically ill patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] suffering from pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) during their hospital admission. All patients received the biological agent tocilizumab (TCZ), an interleukin (IL)-6 antagonist, as an experimental treatment for COVID-19 before developing PI. COVID-19 and TCZ have been independently linked to PI risk, yet the cause of this relationship is unknown and under speculation. PI is a rare condition, defined as the presence of gas in the intestinal wall, and although its pathogenesis is poorly understood, intestinal ischemia is one of its causative agents. Based on COVID-19's association with vasculopathic and ischemic insults, and IL-6's protective role in intestinal epithelial ischemia-reperfusion injury, an adverse synergistic association of COVID-19 and TCZ can be proposed in the setting of PI. To our knowledge, this is the first published, single center, case series of pneumatosis intestinalis in COVID-19 patients who received tocilizumab therapy.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Case report
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Med (Lausanne)
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fmed.2021.638075
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