Tocilizumab reduces the risk of ICU admission and mortality in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Publicado en:Revista Espanola De Quimioterapia. 34 (3): 238-244 - 2021-06-01 34(3), DOI: 10.37201/req/037.2021
Autores: Moreno-Garcia, Estela; Rico, Veronica; Albiach, Laia; Aguero, Daiana; Ambrosioni, Juan; Bodro, Marta; Cardozo, Celia; Chumbita, Mariana; De la Mora, Lorena; Garcia-Pouton, Nicole; Gonzalez-Cordon, Ana; Hernandez-Meneses, Marta; Inciarte, Alexy; Laguno, Montse; Leal, Lorna; Linares, Laura; Macaya, Irene; Meira, Fernanda; Mensa, Josep; Moreno, Antonio; Morata, Laura; Puerta-Alcalde, Pedro; Rojas, Jhon; Sola, Montse; Torres, Berta; Torres, Manuel; Tome, Adria; Tuset, Montse; Castro, Pedro; Fernandez, Sara; Maria Nicolas, Josep; Almuedo-Riera, Alex; Munoz, Jose; Fernandez-Pittol, Mariana; Angeles Marcos, Maria; Soy, Dolors; Antonio Martinez, Jose; Garcia, Felipe; Soriano, Alex;
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Resumen
Objectives. In some patients the immune response triggered by SARS-CoV-2 is unbalanced, presenting an acute respiratory distress syndrome which in many cases requires intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The limitation of ICU beds has been one of the major burdens in the management around the world; therefore, clinical strategies to avoid ICU admission are needed. We aimed to describe the influence of tocilizumab on the need of transfer to ICU or death in non-critically ill patients.Material and methods. A retrospective study of 171 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection that did not qualify as requiring transfer to ICU during the first 24h after admission to a conventional ward, were included. The criteria to receive tocilizumab was radiological impairment, oxygen demand or an increasing of inflammatory parameters, however, the ultimate decision was left to the attending physician judgement. The primary outcome was the need of ICU admission or death whichever came first.Results. A total of 77 patients received tocilizumab and 94 did not. The tocilizumab group had less ICU admissions (10.3% vs. 27.6%, P=0.005) and need of invasive ventilation (0 vs 13.8%, P=0.001). In the multivariable analysis, tocilizumab remained as a protective variable (OR: 0.03, CI 95%: 0.007-0.1, P=0.0001) of ICU admission or death.Conclusions. Tocilizumab in early stages of the inflammatory flare could reduce an important number of ICU admissions and mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate of 10.3% among patients receiving tocilizumab appears to be lower than other reports. This is a non-randomized study and the results should be interpreted with caution.
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Impacto bibliométrico. Análisis de la aportación y canal de difusión
El trabajo ha sido publicado en la revista Revista Espanola De Quimioterapia, y aunque la revista se encuentra clasificada en el cuartil Q3 (Agencia WoS (JCR)), su enfoque regional y su especialización en Pharmacology & Pharmacy, le otorgan un reconocimiento lo suficientemente significativo en un nicho concreto del conocimiento científico a nivel internacional.
Desde una perspectiva relativa, y atendiendo al indicador del impacto normalizado calculado a partir del Field Citation Ratio (FCR) de la fuente Dimensions, arroja un valor de: 8.11, lo que indica que, de manera comparada con trabajos en la misma disciplina y en el mismo año de publicación, lo ubica como trabajo citado por encima de la media. (fuente consultada: Dimensions Jul 2025)
De manera concreta y atendiendo a las diferentes agencias de indexación, el trabajo ha acumulado, hasta la fecha 2025-07-10, el siguiente número de citas:
- WoS: 2
- Scopus: 2