AUTHOR=Keiffer Gina , French Zachary , Wilde Lindsay , Filicko-O'Hara Joanne , Gergis Usama , Binder Adam F. TITLE=Case Report: Tocilizumab for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Patient With Aplastic Anemia JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.562625 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2020.562625 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=

While cytokine storm develops in a minority of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, novel treatment approaches are desperately needed for those in whom it does. Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor antibody, has been utilized for the treatment of cytokine storm in a number of severe inflammatory conditions, including in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we present the first published case utilizing this therapy in a patient with underlying immunodeficiency. Our patient with aplastic anemia developed cytokine storm due to COVID-19 manifested by fever, severe hypoxia, pulmonary infiltrates, and elevated inflammatory markers. Following treatment with tocilizumab, cytokine storm resolved, and the patient was ultimately safely discharged from the hospital.