Interleukin-1 blockade with high-dose anakinra in patients with COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and hyperinflammation: a retrospective cohort study

Giulio Cavalli, Giacomo De Luca, Corrado Campochiaro, Emanuel Della-Torre, Marco Ripa, Diana Canetti, et al.

Published: May 07, 2020

Note

The observational study found that high dose anakinra was safe and was associated with respiratory improvements and reduced signs of cytokine storm in 72% (21/29) of patients. These observations were compared with 16 patients who did not receive anakinra, finding respiratory improvement in 50% (6/16) of patients. The authors caution that the retrospective nature of the study and the small number of patients make it impossible to draw definitive conclusions. The findings need to be validated with a randomised controlled trial, conducted over a longer period to check for long-term outcomes.

Reference

The Lancet – DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(20)30127-2