Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of patients before administration of Tocilizumab
| Characteristics: | Mechanical ventilation (MV) (n=17) | No Mechanical ventilation (No MV) (n=72) | All (n=89) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 9 (53) | 27 (38) | 34 (43) |
| Age category, n (%) | |||
| <50 y.o. | 8 (47) | 24 (33) | 32 (36) |
| 50-69 y.o. | 5 (29) | 40 (56) | 45 (51) |
| ≥70 y.o. | 4 (24) | 8 (11) | 12 (14) |
| Pre-existent conditions, n (%) | |||
| Any condition | 13 (77) | 48 (67) | 61 (69) |
| Hypertension | 7 (41) | 22 (31) | 29 (33) |
| Diabetes | 1 (6) | 9 (13) | 10 (11) |
| Chronic lung disease | 1 (6) | 5 (7) | 6 (7) |
| Obesity | 9 (53) | 14 (19) | 23 (26) |
| Severity | |||
| Lymphocytes <1000 106 uL, n (%) | 15 (88) | 42 (58) | 57 (64) |
| Median Serum IL6 pg/mL (IQR)a | 122 (47–390)* | 43 (19–75)* | 49 (25–99) |
| Median Serum CRP mg/L (IQR) | 89 (70–191) | 95 (45–150) | 94 (54–157) |
| Febrile n (%) | 12 (71) | 67 (93) | 79 (89) |
| Lung CT score on admission**, n (%) | |||
| 1 | 1 (5.9) | 3 (4.2) | 4 (5.1) |
| 2 | 3 (17.6) | 37 (51,4) | 40 (50.6) |
| 3 | 5 (29.4) | 29 (40.3) | 34 (43) |
| 4 | 8 (47.1) | 3 (4.1) | 11 (13.9) |
| Day of TCZ initiation since disease onset—median (IQR) | 12 (7–12) | 10 (7–11) | 10 (7–11) |
Presented are the main clinical indices for patients who were or were not receiving mechanical ventilation at initiation of Tocilizumab treatment.
Clinical indices did not differ between the groups excepting:
*
plasma IL-6 levels were higher in the mechanical ventilation group than in the non-mechanical ventilation group (p=0.001Mann-Whitney U test) and
**
CT Scores that were more severe in the MV group than in the non-mechanical ventilation group (median 3(IQR 3-4) vs median 2(IQR 2-3, p=0.01 Mann-Whitney U test).