Benefits of Tocilizumab in patients with a severe form of SARS-CoV-2 infection: Experience of the intensive care unit of the Mohammed VI university hospital, Oujda.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a new disease that appeared in December 2019. Millions of people have been infected and died from this infection. Until today, the pathophysiology and treatment of this infection remain unknown, but a lot of studies are trying to solve the mystery. The trail of inflammation remains the most convincing, especially the Interleukin 6 (IL-6) which could play an important role in a reaction cascade leading to a cytokine storm. According to studies, although few in number, the Tociluzimab (TCZ), which is an anti-IL6, could prevent or even suppress this storm, leading to a less severe clinical state of the disease and a faster recovery. This could decrease the use of oxygen, avoid the risk of intubation and mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This single-center retrospective observational case review brought together 557 COVID-19 seriously ill patients (pulmonary involvement> 25% + SatO2AA <90%) admitted to the intensive care unit of our university hospital from March 1st, 2020 to February 28th, 2021. They were divided into 2 groups a Tociluzimab group (TCZ group) and a Non Tociluzimab group (NON TCZ) to facilitate the comparison. The aim of the study was to compare the length of hospital stay, the use of mechanical ventilation and the mortality in the TCZ group versus the NON TCZ group. RESULTS: The average age of our patients was 62,05 years (±13.51) and 62.61 years (±16.33) respectively in the TCZ versus NON TCZ group. 76 (76%) were men while 24 were women (24%) in the TCZ group; and there was 313 (68.49%) men and 144 (31.51%) women in the NON TCZ group. Their average BMI was 28 kg/m2 (±4.52) in the TCZ group versus 27.89 kg/m2 (±4.73) in the NON TCZ group. Among them, the TCZ group included 38 (38%) diabetic patients, 38 hypertensive (38%), 12 heart disease (12%) and 2 chronic renal failure (2%), while the NON TCZ group regrouped 35 (7.65%) diabetics, 33 (7.22%) hypertensive, 12 heart disease (2.67%), and 5 chronic renal failure (1.09%) patients. The mean time to consultation of patients was almost similar in the two groups: 8.86 (±7,28) days for TCZ and 8.83 (±7,03) days for NON TCZ group. The mean length of ICU hospital stay was 9 days (4,94) for the TCZ group and 8,75 days (4,73) for the other one. The saturation at admission was at 74.92% (10.45) for the TCZ group ranging from 40% to 92%, and at 73,56% for the NON TCZ group. Lung damage from COVID-19 was extensive in 12%, severe in 32%, and critical in 56% of TCZ group enrolled cases. Meanwhile it was extensive in 23.63%, severe in 41,35%, and critical in 35,01% of the NON TCZ group. The biological findings found average of white blood cells at 12256/12082 e/mm3, lymphocytes at 761/842 e/mm3, CRP at 181/199 mg/L, ferritin at 1747/528 µg/L, and fibrinogen at 6.92/6.27 g/L for the TCZ group versus NON TCZ group. Medical care was based on isolation, oxygenotherapy, azithromycin, vitamin C, zinc, vitamin D, salicylic acid, dexamethasone followed with methylprednisolone, and anticoagulation for all hospitalized patients. The TCZ group received at least 1 course of Tociluzimab dosed at 400 mg (2 patients received 2 doses and 1 patient received 3 doses). The indication of a Tociluzimab course in our department was based on a set of arguments: an increase in oxygen requirements, a progression of lesions on chest-computed tomography and an increase in inflammation markers including IL-6, CRP, ferritin, fibrinogen, and a decrease in the percentage of lymphocytes. The invasive mechanical ventilation was indicated for 4 (4%) patients in the TCZ group versus 192 (42,01%) in the NON TCZ. Among the 100 patients included in our cohort in the TCZ group, 40% died in intensive care unit and 60% had a favorable evolution with a decrease of the biological markers of inflammation. However, in the NON TCZ group, 197 (43,10%) passed away. CONCLUSION: The use of Tociluzimab in ICU patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia did not contribute to a significant difference in the reduction of hospital stay. However, the invasive mechanical ventilation was less needed in patients receiving Tociluzimab than the others. Moreover, there was a mortality benefit associated with the use of Tociluzimab, but only before 10 days of hospitalization.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Vulvo-Perineal Endometriosis: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To describe the available knowledge on vulvo-perineal endometriosis including its diagnosis, clinical management and recurrence rate. Methods: We followed the PRISMA guidelines for Systematic Reviews and our study was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020202441). The terms "Endometriosis" and "Perineum" or "Vulva" were used as keywords. Cochrane Library, Medline/Pubmed, Embase and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched. Papers in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian from inception to July 30, 2020 were considered. Reference lists of included articles and other literature source such as Google Scholar were also manually scrutinized in order to identify other relevant studies. Two independent reviewers screened potentially eligible studies according to inclusion criteria. Results: Out of 539 reports, 90 studies were eligible including a total of 283 patients. Their mean age was 32.7 ± 7.6 years. Two hundred sixty-three (95.3%) presenting with vulvo-perineal endometriosis have undergone either episiotomy, perineal trauma or vaginal injury or surgery. Only 13 patients (4.7%) developed vulvo-vaginal endometriosis spontaneously i.e., without any apparent condition favoring it. The reasons that motivated the patients to take medical advice were vulvo-perineal cyclical pain increasing during menstruations (98.2% of the patients, n = 278). Out of the 281 patients for whom a clinical examination was described, 274 patients (97.5%) showed a vulvo-perineal nodule, mass or swelling while six presented with bluish cutaneous lesions (2.1%) and 1 with bilateral polyps of the labia minora (0.4%). All but one patients underwent surgical excision of their lesions but only 88 patients (28.1%) received additional hormonal therapy. The recurrence rate was 10.2% (29 patients) considering a median follow-up period of 10 months (based on 61 studies). Conclusion: In conclusion, vulvo-perineal endometriosis is a rare entity with approximately 300 cases reported in the literature since 1923. With the available knowledge shown in this systematic review, we encourage all practitioners to think about perineal endometriosis in case of perineal cyclical pain with or without previous perineal damage. Diagnosis should be done with clinical exam, perineal ultrasound and pelvic MRI when available. In case of anal sphincter involvement, perianal ultrasound should be performed. Surgical excision of the lesion should be realized in order to remove the lesion and to confirm the diagnosis histologically. Hormonal treatment could be proposed to attempt to decrease the size of a large lesion before surgery or to avoid recurrence of the lesion. As evidence-based approach to the diagnosis, treatment and recurrence rate of affected patients remains a challenge given its low prevalence, the variations in management found in the articles included and the limited quality of available studies, we suggest that a prospective database on vulvo-perineal endometriosis should be generated to increase knowledge but also awareness among healthcare professionals and optimize patients' care. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42020202441.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of endometrium: case report and literature review.

In this paper, we report a case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the endometrium (PSCCE) with a literature review. A 64-year-old woman was admitted because of postmenopausal bleeding. The gynecological exam found bleeding from the endocervix. The pelvic ultrasound objectified uterine regular contours, endometrial thickened was 10 mm, the presence of an intra cavitary lesion measuring 56/70 mm. The diagnostic hysteroscopy revealed a whitish appearance taking all the uterine cavity making evoke a tumor of the endometrium. Pelvic MRI showed a tumor limited to the uterine corpus endometrium (invasion by more than 50% of the myometrium) without invasion of the cervix. Radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and lymph nodes dissection were performed. Grossly, the endometrial carcinoma was polypoid tumor occupying the entire uterine cavity. Histologically, the diagnosis of SCC was retained. No adenocarcinoma element was recognized. Neither squamous metaplasia nor dysplasia was recognized. No ectopic cervical tissue was found. The SCC was found to invade into deeper one half of the myometrium. No tumor cells were seen in other sites including the cervix, ovaries, parameters, and lymph nodes. The patients was FIGO 2009 stage IB (pT1B, N0), and was treated with adjuvant radiation. The patient had a disease progression in the pelvis 3 months after the irradiation. We reported a case of PSCCE which can help to enrich the literature for the treatment and prognosis of this disease.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of endometrium: case report and literature review.

In this paper, we report a case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the endometrium (PSCCE) with a literature review. A 64-year-old woman, was admitted because postmenopausal bleeding. The gynecological exam found bleeding from the endocervix. The pelvic ultrasound objectified uterine regular contours, endometrial thickened was 10 mm, the presence of an intra cavitary lesion mesuring 56/70 mm. The diagnostic hysteroscopy revealed a whitish appearance taking all the uterine cavity making evoke a tumor of the endometrium. Pelvic MRI showed a tumor limited to the uterine corpus endometrium (invasion by more than 50% of the myometrium) without invasion of the cervix. Radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and lymph nodes dissection were performed. Grossly, the endometrial carcinoma was polypoid tumor occupying the entire uterine cavity. Histologically, the diagnosis of SCC was retained. No adenocarcinoma element was recognized. Neither squamous metaplasia nor dysplasia was recognized. No ectopic cervical tissue was found. The SCC was found to invade into deeper one half of the myometrium. No tumor cells were seen in other sites including the cervix, ovaries, parametres, and lymph nodes. The patients was FIGO 2009 stage IB (pT1B, N0), and was treated with adjuvant radiation. The patient had a disease progression in the pelvis 3 months after the irradiation. We reported a case of PSCCE which can help to enrich the literature for the treatment and prognosis of this disease.

Paravertebral extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature.

The extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (CME) is a rare malignant soft tissue tumour described as a distinct clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, genetical and evolutive entity. It represents only 2.5% of soft tissue sarcomas. Its individualization is important because it has a long and indolent clinical course, and tumour-related death often occurs after a long survival period. The diagnostic key is morphological supported by immunohistochemistry and genetics t (9; 22) that allow differentiating it from other tumours with myxoid stroma and from chordoma. This report describes a patient with paravertebral extraskeletal myxoid chondrosrcoma with a high locoregional extension.