Arthritis drugs could save lives of COVID-19 patients, study finds
pharmafile | January 8, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications |Â Â COVID-19Â
Two drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could cut COVID-19 hospital stays by as much as 10 days, and save the lives of one in 12 intensive care patients with coronavirus, new research has found.
One of the treatments, tocilizumab, could reduce the relative risk of death by 24% when given to patients within 24 hours of entering intensive care. The NHS will begin to use tocilizumab on coronavirus patients from today.
The other drug, sarilumab, has also been found to have a positive effect on patients with severe COVID-19. In addition to having the potential to save lives, it could also drastically reduce the amount of time patients will spend in intensive care.
The findings come from a clinical trial called REMAP-CAP (Randomised Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform for Community-Acquired Pneumonia), which is yet to be peer reviewed.
During the study, 792 adult COVID-19 patients across six countries received either standard treatment or an intravenous dose of tocilizumab or sarilumab, within 24 hours of being admitted to intensive care.
After monitoring the patients’ progress for a minimum of 21 days, researchers found that both arthritis drugs reduced the risk of death in severe coronavirus patients. Results showed that while hospital mortality was 35.8% for patients receiving standard care, it was reduced to 28% and 22.2% for those treated with tocilizumab and sarilumab, respectively.
When the results from tocilizumab and sarilumab are combined, the relative risk of death is cut by 24%, compared to patients receiving standard care.
The new methods of treatment against the virus could help to significantly reduce mounting pressure hospitals are facing as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the UK.
Darcy Jimenez
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