Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and treated with anakinra: a real-world study in the USA

Link to article at PubMed

Clin Exp Immunol. 2021 Nov 27:uxab024. doi: 10.1093/cei/uxab024. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Anakinra, a recombinant, non-glycosylated human interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist, has been used in real-world clinical practice to manage hyperinflammation in COVID-19. This retrospective, observational study analyses USA hospital inpatient data of patients diagnosed with moderate/severe COVID-19 and treated with anakinra between 1 April and 31 August 2020. Of the 119 patients included in the analysis, 63.9% were male, 48.6% were of black ethnicity and the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 64.7 (12.5) years. Mean (SD) time from hospital admission to anakinra initiation was 7.3 (6.1) days. Following anakinra initiation, 73.1% of patients received antibiotics, 55.5% received antithrombotics, and 91.0% received corticosteroids. Overall, 64.7% of patients required intensive care unit (ICU) admittance, and 28.6% received mechanical ventilation following admission. Patients who did not require ICU admittance or who were discharged alive experienced a significantly shorter time between hospital admission and receiving anakinra treatment compared with those admitted to the ICU (5 vs 8 days; p = 0.002) or those who died in hospital (6 vs 9 days; p = 0.01). Patients with myocardial infarction or renal conditions were six times (p < 0.01) and three times (p = 0.01), respectively, more likely to die in hospital than be discharged alive. A longer time from hospital admission until anakinra treatment was associated with significantly higher mortality (p = 0.01). Findings from this real-world study suggest that a shorter time from hospital admission to anakinra treatment is associated with significantly lower ICU admissions and mortality among patients with moderate/severe COVID-19.

PMID:35020840 | DOI:10.1093/cei/uxab024

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