The Combination of Tocilizumab and Methylprednisolone Along With Initial Lung Recruitment Strategy in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation: A Series of 21 Consecutive Cases.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the outcomes with use of a combination of tocilizumab and methylprednisolone administered around the time of endotracheal intubation in patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019-associated hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. DATA SOURCES: Retrospective chart review. STUDY SELECTION/DATA EXTRACTION: Twenty-one consecutive patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019-associated hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Initial ventilator parameters were positive end-expiratory pressure 14 cm H2o and target plateau pressure 29 cm H2o to maximize lung recruitment. Methylprednisolone (125 mg every 6hr for 24 hr with tapering to 60 mg every 12 hr) was administered shortly after patients were intubated (median 11 hr after intubation). DATA SYNTHESIS: No patient in the cohort died while hospitalized (mortality, 0%; 95% CI, 0%-18%) and 18 patients have been discharged from the acute care setting. Twenty of 21 patients (95%) have been liberated from mechanical ventilation after a median duration of 8 days (range, 4-30 d). Following 48 hours of methylprednisolone, the A-a o2 gradient decreased from 455 ± 103 to 228 ± 109 mm Hg (difference 227 ± 108 mm Hg; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our positive experience with tocilizumab in combination with methylprednisolone started early after endotracheal intubation may be one avenue for reducing the morbidity and mortality seen with severe coronavirus disease 2019 and merits further exploration in clinical studies.

Characteristics and Clinical Management of a Cluster of 3 Patients With Ebola Virus Disease, Including the First Domestically Acquired Cases in the United States.

BACKGROUND: More than 26,000 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in western Africa, with high mortality. Several patients have been medically evacuated to hospitals in the United States and Europe. Detailed clinical data are limited on the clinical course and management of patients with EVD outside western Africa. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics and management of a cluster of patients with EVD, including the first cases of Ebola virus (EBOV) infection acquired in the United States. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical case series. SETTING: Three U.S. hospitals in September and October 2014. PATIENTS: First imported EVD case identified in the United States and 2 secondary EVD cases acquired in the United States in critical care nurses who cared for the index case patient. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical recovery, EBOV RNA level, resolution of Ebola viremia, survival with discharge from hospital, or death. RESULTS: The index patient had high EBOV RNA levels, developed respiratory and renal failure requiring critical care support, and died. Both patients with secondary EBOV infection had nonspecific signs and symptoms and developed moderate illness; EBOV RNA levels were moderate, and both patients recovered. LIMITATION: Both surviving patients received uncontrolled treatment with multiple investigational agents, including convalescent plasma, which limits generalizability of the results. CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis, prompt initiation of supportive medical care, and moderate clinical illness likely contributed to successful outcomes in both survivors. The inability to determine the potential benefit of investigational therapies and the effect of patient-specific factors that may have contributed to less severe illness highlight the need for controlled clinical studies of these interventions, especially in the setting of a high level of supportive medical care. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: None.