Compassionate Use of Tocilizumab in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in a Low-resource Country, Pakistan: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: We herein report our experience of optimized utilization of tocilizumab for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a limited-resource tertiary care hospital.Methods: This single-center, single-arm, open-label, interventional study was conducted to determine the effect of tocilizumab on the mortality of patients with COVID-19.Results: Fifty-nine patients were administered tocilizumab. Patients who received invasive respiratory support were identified to have a higher risk of mortality than those who received oxygen support.Conclusion: Our study showed that the maximum benefit of tocilizumab was observed as a prophylactic treatment of cytokine syndrome in patients with COVID-19, particularly those with moderate to severe symptoms who are not receiving invasive respiratory support.TOCIPAK <a href="https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-25rtydq">https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-25rtydq</a>; REBEC Number 11773

Implementing computerized physician order entry in a public tertiary care hospital

“…Lady Reading Hospital-Medical Teaching Institution (LRH-MTI) is one of the largest tertiary hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. 11 This 1770-bed health facility is a public hospital serving a population of 2,273,000 inhabitants. The department of pharmacy services is one of the busiest units in this tertiary care hospital dispensing around 900,000 medications monthly.…”

Utility of Inflammatory Markers for Tocilizumab in Covid-19 Patients: a Single-Site Retrospective Study

“…The result of the study helped to develop our new drug use protocol, i.e., patients with oxygen requirements but not on invasive respiratory therapy and high inflammatory markers were eligible for Tocilizumab. 9 Later, the RECOVERY trial cemented the evidence of the beneficial impact of tocilizumab in the early stage of disease in hospitalized severe to critical patients. 10 However, we still faced the difficulty when to initiating tocilizumab and how to monitor tocilizumab effectiveness.…”