Table 4.
Longitudinal clinical and laboratory results of patients treated with tocilizumab. Data are reported at baseline (before tocilizumab administration) and at 5 days follow up. Number denotes mean (standard deviation) (a); median [interquartile range] (b). Statistical significance was evaluated using paired sample t-test (a); Wilcoxon test (b). P value reports the associated p value (statistical significance p<0.05). Asterisk (*) denotes clinical significance.
| Normative values | Pre-tocilizumab treatment (n=81) | 5 days post-tocilizumab treatment (n=81) | Significance | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical characteristics | |||||
| Heart rate (bpm) a | - | 90 (15.0) | 73 (13.0) | 8.427 | <0.001* |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm/Hg) a | - | 129 (22.) | 131 (19.0) | -0.458 | 0.648 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm/Hg) a | - | 73 (11.0) | 76 (10.0) | -1.954 | 0.056 |
| Temperature (°C)b | <37 | 37.5 [36-40] | 36.0 [36-37.5] | -5.690 | <0.001* |
| Laboratory Results | |||||
| CRP (mg/L)a | <0.5 | 108.4 (74.3) | 22.2 (36.6) | 9.950 | <0.001* |
| Procalcitonin (ng/L)b | <0.1 | 0.25 [<0.1–7.5] | 0.1 [<0.01-0.56] | -2.293 | 0.022 |
| White blood cells (x10³ per μL) a | 4.00-10.80 | 6.9 (3.9) | 7.4 (3.1) | -0.790 | 0.432 |
| Lymphocytes (x10³ per μL) a | 0.90-4.00 | 0.9 (0.4) | 1.1 (0.5) | -2.828 | 0.006 |
| Neutrophils (x10³ per μL) a | 1.50-8.00 | 5.5 (3.7) | 6.2 (5.6) | -0.678 | 0.500 |
| Platelets (x10³ per μL) a | 130-400 | 225 (106) | 337 (282) | -3.436 | 0.001 |
| Glycemia (mg/dl)b | 76-115 | 115 [76-314] | 100.5 [64-323] | -0.909 | 0.363 |
| Urea (mg/dl) b | 17-49 | 35 [16-143] | 35 [16-88] | -0.675 | 0. 500 |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) a | 0.60-1.00 | 0.9 (0.2) | 0.8 (0.2) | 7.108 | <0.001 |
| Sodium (mmol/L) a | 136-145 | 136.5 (5.1) | 140.1 (2.9) | -4.707 | <0.001 |
| Potassium (mmoL/L) a | 3.4-4.5 | 3.8 (0.5) | 4.0 (0.5) | -3.454 | 0.001 |
| Chlorine (mmol/L) a | 89-107 | 97.5 (3.9) | 101.0 (9.1) | -2.970 | 0.004 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) a | <1.20 | 0.5 (0.3) | 0.5 (0.2) | 1.622 | 0.115 |
| Aspartate Transaminase -AST (U/L) a | 18-34 | 58.6 (42.4) | 58.9 (42.3) | -0.057 | 0.995 |
| Alanine amionotrasferase -ALT (U/L) a | 10-35 | 48.6 (39.6) | 91.2 (110.3) | -3.322 | 0.002* |
| Gamma glutamyl trasferase- gGT (U/L) b | 6-42 | 45 [11-360] | 70 [8-609] | -1.734 | 0.083 |
| Alkaline phosphatase -ALP (U/L) a | 44-107 | 65.1 (37.3) | 67.0 (29.0) | -0.373 | 0.711 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase- LDH (U/L) a | 135-225 | 358.6 (138.5) | 324.7 (118.5) | 0.415 | 0.681 |
| Creatine kinase- CK (U/L) b | 26-192 | 112 [11–878] | 44 [7-1218] | -3.176 | 0.001 |
| Prothrombine time -Pt (sec) b | 9.4-12.5 | 13.4 [10.8-22.2] | 12.9 [11-15.8] | -4.119 | <0.001 |
| Activated partial thromboplastine time- aPTT (sec) b | 24-38 | 32.7 (4.0) | 29.6 (5.4) | 4.351 | <0.001 |
| International normalized ratio -INR c | 0.9-1.2 | 1.2 [1.0-2.0] | 1.2 [1.0-1.4] | 0.504 | 0.674 |