Use of intravenous tocilizumab in pregnancy for severe coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia: two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 inhibitor is part of many international guidelines for the management of cytokine storm associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 with observed improvements. However, this drug is not recommended during pregnancy owing to the lack of safety data. Restriction of such medication use makes the management of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women more challenging. Pregnant women are more likely to deteriorate from respiratory infections because of the immunological changes during pregnancy and the hypoxic compromise. We report the use of tocilizumab in two pregnant patients who developed severe coronavirus disease 2019 with a successful outcome. To date, there have not been any published data on tocilizumab use in pregnancy for cytokine storm syndrome associated with coronavirus disease 2019. CASE PRESENTATIONS: In 2020, two pregnant women of Asian origin in the last trimester of pregnancy were admitted to our hospital with severe coronavirus disease 2019. Their clinical condition progressed rapidly despite maximum supportive treatments. Blood testing in the second week of illness showed rising ferritin and interleukin-6 levels, indicating the possibility of cytokine storm syndrome. Both developed respiratory failure necessitating mechanical ventilation. Due to their critical clinical condition and lack of response to supportive treatment, a decision was made to use intravenous tocilizumab therapy. Both were treated with one intravenous infusion of tocilizumab and had a successful outcome. They were extubated later and gradually weaned off supplemental oxygen. The first patient continued with her pregnancy during the hospital stay with normal fetal scans. The second patient needed an emergency cesarean section and delivered a healthy infant. CONCLUSION: In critical clinical situations, tocilizumab may have a role in managing coronavirus disease 2019 related cytokine storm during pregnancy.

Optimizing Supportive Care in COVID-19 Patients: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

Within just a few months, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved from a virtually unknown pathogen to a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As COVID-19 infection can affect multiple organ systems, treating many manifestations and complications requires clinical expertise across the healthcare professional spectrum. Therefore, interprofessional and multidisciplinary collaboration should form the cornerstone of every hospital's COVID-19 management approach. In this manuscript, we discuss the non-microbial management strategies for our COVID-19 inpatient population. Specifically, through an inter-professional and collaborative approach to care delivery, we provide rationale and guidance on prone positioning, oxygen strategies, early mobilization, identifying and treating co-infections, anticoagulation and ensuring appropriate psychological support for patients and their families. It is our hope that these recommendations help supporting clinician management decisions to best care for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the region and worldwide.

Complications of spilled gallstones during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: case series with review of literature.

The spillage of gallstones during laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a fairly common event, though, not documented and reported. These lost stones may have clinically important implications inclusive of added surgical procedures for their retrieval. We hereby address this issue and report 3 cases, with delayed consequences of these spilled gallstones.

Giant iliac vein aneurysm secondary to long standing traumatic popliteal arteriovenous fistula.

A 48-year-old man presented with a traumatic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in the left popliteal space, due to a bullet injury 20 years back. A computed tomographic (CT) angiography revealed an AVF in the left popliteal space with an associated large iliac vein aneurysm (9.2 x 9.0 cms). Primary repair of the AVF was done. A Doppler scan showed marked reduction in the size of the aneurysm, 4 months after surgery. Cases associated with a venous aneurysm distant from the site of AVF are rare and there are only 7 cases reported in the international literature.