Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first isolated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It is rapidly spreading worldwide, posing a severe threat to global health. Many therapeutics have been investigated for the treatment of this disease with inconclusive outcomes. Anakinra - an interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist - had showed survival benefits in patients with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) and sepsis and was investigated for the use in COVID-19 infection with promising outcomes.
Drug: Anakinra
Patient will receive Anakinra 100 mg SC injection every 12 hours for 3 days, then 100 mg once daily from day 4 to day 7 plus Standard of Care
Other Name: Kineret®
Other: Standard of Care
Patients will receive the Standard of Care therapy as per the local treatment protocol
Inclusion criteria:
- Hospitalized adult (age ≥ 18yrs)
- Confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis
- Presence of respiratory distress in addition to signs of cytokine release syndrome
- Radiological evidence of pneumonia
- Signed informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Known allergic reactions to the study medication or any component of the product.
- Active bacterial, viral, TB, fungal infectious diseases
- Received immunosuppressant or immunomodulatory in the past 30 days
- Neutrophil count < 500 cells/microliter
- Platelets < 50,000/microliter
- Pregnant or breastfeeding females
Hamad Medical Corporation
Doha, Qatar