LAUSR

Background Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a worldwide disaster, has already affected lots of people. Effective care and therapy are currently being evaluated in full swing. Purpose Our purpose was to investigate the effects of tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor, on treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Data Sources, Study Selection, and Data Extraction We conducted a meta-analysis and searched for relevant studies on Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library without restrictions on language from inception until February 1, 2021. Fifteen studies were included for this meta-analysis. Two authors independently selected and screened these studies, assessed the quality of included studies, and extracted related information. Results Fifteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. The main studies showed that tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality (risk ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.46–0.83; and hazard ratio = 0.61, 95% confidence interval = 0.51–0.72). Using tocilizumab might also affect biochemistry indicators (lowered C-reactive protein and ferritin, increased lymphocyte count). Conclusion These current bodies of evidence could indicate that early use of tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality in adult patients with COVID-19. Early use of tocilizumab could reduce the mortality rate of adult patients with COVID-19 without obvious fatal side effects, which may be a treatment option in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Systematic Review Registration The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (ID:242811).