; for the CORIMUNO-19 Collaborative Group IMPORTANCE Severe pneumonia with hyperinflammation and elevated interleukin-6 is a common presentation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVE To determine whether tocilizumab (TCZ) improves outcomes of patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 pneumonia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICPANTS This cohort-embedded, investigator-initiated, multicenter, open-label, bayesian randomized clinical trial investigating patients with COVID-19 and moderate or severe pneumonia requiring at least 3 L/min of oxygen but without ventilation or admission to the intensive care unit was conducted between March 31, 2020, to April 18, 2020, with follow-up through 28 days. Patients were recruited from 9 university hospitals in France. Analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis with no correction for multiplicity for secondary outcomes. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomly assigned to receive TCZ, 8 mg/kg, intravenously plus usual care on day 1 and on day 3 if clinically indicated (TCZ group) or to receive usual care alone (UC group). Usual care included antibiotic agents, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, vasopressor support, and anticoagulants. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Primary outcomes were scores higher than 5 on the World Health Organization 10-point Clinical Progression Scale (WHO-CPS) on day 4 and survival without need of ventilation (including noninvasive ventilation) at day 14. Secondary outcomes were clinical status assessed with the WHO-CPS scores at day 7 and day 14, overall survival, time to discharge, time to oxygen supply independency, biological factors such as C-reactive protein level, and adverse events. RESULTS Of 131 patients, 64 patients were randomly assigned to the TCZ group and 67 to UC group; 1 patient in the TCZ group withdrew consent and was not included in the analysis. Of the 130 patients, 42 were women (32%), and median (interquartile range) age was 64 (57.1-74.3) years. In the TCZ group, 12 patients had a WHO-CPS score greater than 5 at day 4 vs 19 in the UC group (median posterior absolute risk difference [ARD] −9.0%; 90% credible interval [CrI], −21.0 to 3.1), with a posterior probability of negative ARD of 89.0% not achieving the 95% predefined efficacy threshold. At day 14, 12% (95% CI −28% to 4%) fewer patients needed noninvasive ventilation (NIV) or mechanical ventilation (MV) or died in the TCZ group than in the UC group (24% vs 36%, median posterior hazard ratio [HR] 0.58; 90% CrI, 0.33-1.00), with a posterior probability of HR less than 1 of 95.0%, achieving the predefined efficacy threshold. The HR for MV or death was 0.58 (90% CrI, 0.30 to 1.09). At day 28, 7 patients had died in the TCZ group and 8 in the UC group (adjusted HR, 0.92; 95% CI 0.33-2.53). Serious adverse events occurred in 20 (32%) patients in the TCZ group and 29 (43%) in the UC group (P = .21). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this randomized clinical trial of patients with COVID-19 and pneumonia requiring oxygen support but not admitted to the intensive care...

Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies are widely used for the treatment of hematological malignancies or autoimmune disease but may be responsible for a secondary humoral deficiency. In the context of COVID-19 infection, this may prevent the elicitation of a specific SARS-CoV-2-antibody response. We report a series of 17 consecutive patients with profound B-cell lymphopenia and prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, negative IgG-IgM SARS-CoV-2 serology and a positive RNAemia measured by digital PCR who were treated with four units of COVID-19 convalescent plasma. Within 48 hours following transfusion, all patients except one experienced an amelioration of their clinical symptoms. The inflammatory syndrome abated within a week. Only one patient who needed mechanical ventilation for severe COVID-19 disease died of bacterial pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia decreased to below the sensitivity threshold in 9 out of 9 evaluated patients. Analysis of virus-specific T-cell responses using T-cell enzyme linked immunoSpot (ELISPOT) assay was analyzed before convalescent plasma transfusion in 3 patients. All showed a conserved SARS-CoV-2 T-cell response and poor cross-response to other coronaviruses. No adverse event was reported. In COVID-19 patients unable to mount a specific humoral response to SARS-CoV-2, convalescent plasma with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies appears to be a very promising approach in the context of protracted COVID-19 symptoms.

Background Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia have an excess of inflammation and increased concentrations of cytokines including interleukin-1 (IL-1). We aimed to determine whether anakinra, a recombinant human IL-1 receptor antagonist, could improve outcomes in patients in hospital with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 pneumonia.Methods In this multicentre, open-label, Bayesian randomised clinical trial (CORIMUNO-ANA-1), nested within the CORIMUNO-19 cohort, we recruited patients from 16 University hospitals in France with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection confirmed by real-time RT-PCR, requiring at least 3 L/min of oxygen by mask or nasal cannula but without ventilation assistance, a score of 5 on the WHO Clinical Progression Scale (WHO-CPS), and a C-reactive protein serum concentration of more than 25 mg/L not requiring admission to the intensive care unit at admission to hospital. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) using a web-based secure centralised system, stratified by centre and blocked with varying block sizes (randomly of size two or four), to either usual care plus anakinra (200 mg twice a day on days 1-3, 100 mg twice on day 4, 100 mg once on day 5) or usual care alone. Usual care was provided at the discretion of the site clinicians. The two coprimary outcomes were the proportion of patients who had died or needed non-invasive or mechanical ventilation by day 4 (ie, a score of >5 on the WHO-CPS) and survival without need for mechanical or non-invasive ventilation (including high-flow oxygen) at day 14. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04341584, and is now closed to accrual. FindingsBetween April 8 and April 26, 2020, we screened 153 patients. The study was stopped early following the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring board, after the recruitment of 116 patients: 59 were assigned to the anakinra group, and 57 were assigned to the usual care group. Two patients in the usual care group withdrew consent and were not analysed. In the analysable population, the median age was 66 years (IQR 59 to 76) and 80 (70%) participants were men. In the anakinra group, 21 (36%) of 59 patients had a WHO-CPS score of more than 5 at day 4 versus 21 (38%) of 55 in the usual care group (median posterior absolute risk difference [ARD] -2•5%, 90% credible interval [CrI] -17•1 to 12•0), with a posterior probability of ARD of less than 0 (ie, anakinra better than usual care) of 61•2%. At day 14, 28 (47%; 95% CI 33 to 59) patients in the anakinra group and 28 (51%; 95% CI 36 to 62) in the usual care group needed ventilation or died, with a posterior probability of any efficacy of anakinra (hazard ratio [HR] being less than 1) of 54•5% (median posterior HR 0•97; 90% CrI 0•62 to 1•52). At day 90, 16 (27%) patients in the anakinra group and 15 (27%) in the usual care group had died. Serious adverse events occurred in 27 (46%) patients in the anakinra group and 21 (38%) in the usu...

Deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) is a recently described autoinflammatory disorder. Genetic analysis is required to confirm the diagnosis. We aimed to describe the identifying symptoms and genotypes of patients referred to our reference centres and to improve the indications for genetic testing. DNA from 66 patients with clinically suspected DADA2 were sequenced by Sanger or next-generation sequencing. Detailed epidemiological, clinical and biological features were collected by use of a questionnaire and were compared between patients with and without genetic confirmation of DADA2. We identified 13 patients (19.6%) carrying recessively inherited mutations in ADA2 that were predicted to be deleterious. Eight patients were compound heterozygous for mutations. Seven mutations were novel (4 missense variants, 2 predicted to affect mRNA splicing and 1 frameshift). The mean age of the 13 patients with genetic confirmation was 12.7 years at disease onset and 20.8 years at diagnosis. Phenotypic manifestations included fever (85%), vasculitis (85%) and neurological disorders (54%). Features best associated with a confirmatory genotype included fever with neurologic or cutaneous attacks (odds ratio [OR] 10.71, p = 0.003 and OR 10.9, p < 0.001), fever alone (OR 8.1, p = 0.01), and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level with neurologic involvement (OR 6.63, p = 0.017). Our proposed decision tree may help improve obtaining genetic confirmation of DADA2 in the context of autoinflammatory symptoms. Prerequisites for quick and low-cost Sanger analysis include one typical cutaneous or neurological sign, one marker of inflammation (fever or elevated CRP level), and recurrent or chronic attacks in adults.

The numbers of activated B cells were increased in SSc patients, and the up-regulation of CD5, CD86, IL-6R, and IL-21R discriminated between patients with dcSSc and those with lcSSc. Peripheral B lymphocytes from SSc patients secreted both IL-6 and TGFβ, and they activated fibroblasts in vitro.

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