Thread by @GrantSchulert

Just published in @PIDJournal - our @CincyChildrens experience using tocilizumab in children and young adults with severe acute #COVID19

journals.lww.com/pidj/Fulltext/…

We report 16 patients treated with tocilizumab, all in PICU with @NIHCOVIDTxGuide OS6 or higher, most with risk factors and all unvaccinated (most #deltawave). 2 died and 2 had prolonged hospitalizations.

Patients who were discharged by day 28 were more likely to be treated with tocilizumab earlier in their COVID-19 illness and earlier in PICU stay (generally within 24h of escalation). Those w better outcomes also trended to lower ferritin and IL-6 but had similar CRP.

Conclusion: Delayed administration of tocilizumab after PICU admission for #COVID19 irrespective of clinical severity, may be an important predictor of poor outcomes in children and young adults.

Paper led by awesome PID fellow Dr. Zheyi Teoh and @CincyChildrens and @ChildrensCBDI partners including @ldanzigerisakov @PaulSpearmanMD