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  • Response to: ‘Correspondence on ‘Interleukin-6 blockade with subcutaneous tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammation: a case–control study’ by Potere et al’ by Buckley

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Correspondence response
Response to: ‘Correspondence on ‘Interleukin-6 blockade with subcutaneous tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammation: a case–control study’ by Potere et al’ by Buckley
  1. Nicola Potere1,2,
  2. Marcello Di Nisio3,4,
  3. Donatella Cibelli5,
  4. Rosa Scurti6,
  5. Antonella Frattari7,
  6. Ettore Porreca1,
  7. Antonio Abbate2,
  8. Giustino Parruti5
  1. 1 Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, Università degli Studi Gabriele d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
  2. 2 VCU Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
  3. 3 Department of Medicine and Ageing Sciences, Università degli Studi Gabriele d'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
  4. 4 Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  5. 5 Infectious Diseases Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy
  6. 6 Geriatric Medicine Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy
  7. 7 Intensive Care Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Giustino Parruti, Infectious Diseases Unit, Pescara Hospital, Pescara 65124, Italy; parrutig{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218715

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    We thank Dr Buckley1 for the interest in our report on interleukin-6 receptor blockade with subcutaneous tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia receiving supplemental oxygen without mechanical ventilation and hyperinflammation.2 We acknowledge that the recently published results from the RECOVERY trial showed reduced mortality in patients treated with dexamethasone (6 mg daily up to 10 days) in addition to usual care, with the benefits being greater in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation (41% vs 29%), while considerably reduced in severe patients on supplemental oxygen without mechanical ventilation (18% vs 14%).3 We also read with interest the results of the CHIC study showing that high-dose intravenous tocilizumab (8 mg/kg body weight, single infusion) may increase the benefits of high-dose methylprednisolone (250 mg on day 1, followed by 80 mg on days 2–5) in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and cytokine storm syndrome requiring supplemental oxygen, mostly through nasal cannulas or mask.4 It is therefore of …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Josef S Smolen

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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