Academic medical centre Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) stated on Tuesday that the approved immunosuppressive drug anakinra used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease may allow certain people with COVID-19 to avoid mechanical ventilation.

Based on a case study from investigators at HSS, anakinra appears to reduce the effects of systemic inflammation in people with COVID-19 who are in severe respiratory distress. The study, published online-first in Arthritis & Rheumatology, was led by Iris Navarro-Millán, MD, MSPH. Dr Navarro-Millán is now developing a controlled study of anakinra in patients with COVID-19 who fit into the criteria.

The patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure (AHRF) and cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) are the two criteria identified as signals that a patient would soon require mechanical ventilation. CSS is the most dangerous consequence leading to fatality in people with COVID-19. AHRF is defined as an increased need for supplemental oxygen. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a number of immunosuppressive drugs have been evaluated in patients experiencing CSS. Some of these drugs, including anakinra, inhibit a protein called interleukin-1.