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Anakinra treatment in COVID-19 pneumonia

Adil Can Gungen, Sirin Yurtlu Temel, Feyza Sonmez Topcu

Background: Cytokine Storm Syndrome (CSS), characterized by overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines in the course of severe Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), has been defined as the major cause of mortality. Anakinra inhibits the pro inflammatory cytokines Interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-1β. It also poses a therapeutic option for the treatment of CSS leading to severe acute respiratory syndrome. We aimed to report our experience of anakinra therapy in this single-centre retrospective study.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective study to reveal the outcome of anakinra on COVID19 patients. Anakinra 100 mg 3 × 1 sc was administered to 15 patients who had pneumonia findings on Thorax CT, had O2 saturation levels below 90%, a ferritin value above 1000 ng/mL, a progressively increased CRP value, a lymphocyte count below 1000 mm3, and a normal procalcitonin value.

Results: All fifteen patients (median age: 47,3 ± 11,2 years) were male. Four patients had diabetes history. The clinical and laboratory parameters improved 5 days following anakinra use. No patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. Also, no mortality was reported in the one-month follow-up of the patients.

Conclusions: The cases with Covid-19 pneumonia should be followed closely in terms of CSS findings. We have demonstrated that the early administration of anakinra therapy during the course of CSS leads to positive results.