1.
Effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulin for children with severe COVID-19: A rapid review
Zhang J, Yang Y, Yang N, Ma Y, Zhou Q, Li W, Wang X, Huang L, Luo X, Fukuoka T, et al
Annals of Translational Medicine. 2020
Abstract
Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is usually used as supportive therapy, but the treatment of COVID-19 by IVIG is controversial This rapid review aims to explore the clinical effectiveness and safety of IVIG in the treatment of children with severe COVID-19 Methods: We systematically searched the literature on the use of IVIG in patients with COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), including both adults and children We assessed the risk of bias and quality of evidence and reported the main findings descriptively Results: A total of 1,519 articles were identified by initial literature search, and finally six studies met our inclusion criteria, included one randomized controlled trial (RCT), four case series and one case report involving 198 patients One case series showed the survival of COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was not improved by IVIG One case report showed high-dose IVIG could improve the outcome of COVID-19 adults Three observational studies showed inconsistent results of the effect of IVIG on SARS patients One RCT showed that IVIG did not reduce mortality or the incidence of nosocomial infection in adults with severe SARS The quality of evidence was between low and very low Conclusions: The existing evidence is insufficient to support the efficacy or safety of IVIG in the treatment of COVID-19
2.
Antiviral agents, glucocorticoids, antibiotics, and intravenous immunoglobulin usage in 1142 patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Pei L, Zhang S, Huang L, Geng X, Ma L, Jiang W, Li W, Chen D
Pol Arch Intern Med. 2020
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Treatment effects of antiviral agents, glucocorticoids, antibiotics, and intravenous immunoglobulin are controversial in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of drug therapy on the risk of death in patients with COVID-19. PATIENTS AND METHODS The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and major preprint platforms were searched to retrieve articles till 7 April 2020. The effects of specific drug interventions on mortality were assessed in COVID-19 patients. Odds ratios (ORs) and Risk Ratios (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects models. RESULTS Of 3421 references, six studies were included. Pooled results from retrospective studies revealed that antiviral agents may contribute to survival benefit (OR, 0.42, 95% CI, 0.17-0.99, p=0.048, I2=82.8%), while the RCT found no effects of antiviral agent on mortality (RR 0.77, 95% CI, 0.45-1.30, p=0.33). Glucocorticoids usage leads to an increased risk of death (OR 2.43, 95% CI, 1.44-4.10, p=0.001, I2=61.9%). Antibiotics intervention did not significantly affect mortality (OR 1.13, 95% CI, 0.67-1.89, p=0.64, I2=0%). Likewise, intravenous immunoglobulin had non-significant effects on mortality (OR 2.66, 95% CI, 0.72-9.89, p=0.14, I2=93.1%). CONCLUSIONS With the varied heterogeneities across interventions, the current evidence indicated a probable survival benefit of antiviral agent usage and a harmful effect of glucocorticoids in patients with COVID-19. None of antibiotics or intravenous immunoglobulin usage was associated with survival benefit in patients with COVID-19.