IL6 inhibition in critically ill COVID-19 patients is associated with increased secondary infections.
Lucas M KimmigDavid WuMatthew GoldNatasha N PettitDavid PitrakJeffrey MuellerAliya N HusainEce A MutluGökhan M MutluPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2020)
Experimental therapies are currently being applied to COVID-19 outside of clinical trials. Anti-inflammatory therapies such as anti-IL-6 therapy have the potential to impair viral clearance, predispose to secondary infection, and cause harm. We seek to raise physician awareness of these issues and highlight the need to better understand the immune response in COVID-19.