RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In Cuba, the first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 11, 2020. Elderly individuals with multiple comorbidities are particularly susceptible to adverse clinical outcomes in the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. During the outbreak, a local transmission event took place in a nursing home in Villa Clara province, Cuba, in which 19 elderly residents tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: Based on the increased susceptibility to cytokine release syndrome, inducing respiratory and systemic complications in this population, 19 patients were included in an expanded access clinical trial to receive itolizumab, an anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: All patients had underlying medical conditions. The product was well tolerated. After the first dose, the course of the disease was favorable, and 18 of the 19 patients (94.7%) were discharged clinically recovered with negative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test results at 13 days. After one dose of itolizumab, circulating IL-6 decreased within the first 24-48 h in patients with high baseline values, whereas in patients with low levels, this concentration remained over low values. To preliminarily assess the effect of itolizumab, a control group was selected among the Cuban COVID-19 patients that did not receive immunomodulatory therapy. The control subjects were well matched regarding age, comorbidities, and severity of the disease. The percentage of itolizumab-treated, moderately ill patients who needed to be admitted to the intensive care unit was only one-third of that of the control group not treated with itolizumab. Additionally, treatment with itolizumab reduced the risk of death 10 times as compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: This study corroborates that the timely use of itolizumab in combination with other antivirals reduces COVID-19 disease worsening and mortality. The humanized antibody itolizumab emerges as a therapeutic alternative for patients with COVID-19. Our results suggest the possible use of itolizumab in patients with cytokine release syndrome from other pathologies.