Association Between Early Treatment With Tocilizumab and Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Importance: Therapies that improve survival in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are needed. Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody against the interleukin 6 receptor, may counteract the inflammatory cytokine release syndrome in patients with severe COVID-19 illness.

Objective: To test whether tocilizumab decreases mortality in this population.

Acute kidney injury in renal transplant recipients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a key risk factor for chronic kidney disease in the general population, but has not been investigated in detail among renal transplant recipients (RTRs). We investigated the incidence, severity and risk factors for AKI following cardiac surgery among RTRs compared with non-RTRs with otherwise similar clinical characteristics.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of RTRs (n = 83) and non-RTRs (n = 83) who underwent cardiac surgery at two major academic medical centers.