Swedish enrolls Covid-19 patients for trial of anti-inflammatory drug

One physician studying Covid-19 treatments says, “the thing that I think does provide us hope is there are people trying to study this as quickly as possible.”

This week, researchers reported encouraging results in using the anti-viral drug remdesivir to fight Covid-19. But an emergency doctor from Seattle who was critically ill with Covid-19 credits another drug with saving his life.

Dr. Ryan Padgett was treated at Swedish Medical Center, where studies of the anti-inflammatory drug with the daunting name of “tocilizumab” (pronounced “toe si LIZ uh mab”) are underway. The drug is currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Krish Patel directs the lymphoma program at Swedish Cancer Institute. He’s used tocilizumab to treat cancer patients. Now he’s pivoting to studying its use for Covid-19 patients whose immune systems similarly overreact, creating a so-called “cytokine storm.”

He emphasized that research is only beginning.

“There probably are subgroups of patients that may benefit from this medicine,” Patel said. “And we really need more information and information from the randomized trial to better tease that out.”

Patel is the principle investigator in a randomized clinical trial that is currently enrolling patients. He’s also gathering reports of how other physicians are using the drug to treat Covid-19 around the world. Patel created a registry; so far 15 sites are reporting their outcomes.

“We kind of recognized because of our early experience in Seattle that there would be other centers that would be facing similar questions,” he said. “So we actually designed and wrote the registry study and are leading that effort.”

Patel said that so far, about 60 patients have been treated with tocilizumab at Swedish, in and outside the ongoing clinical trial. Half of those patients received other drugs as well, including remdesivir, meaning researchers will have to try to isolate the impact of the various drugs.

“There are lots of institutions around the country that are participating in clinical trials for Covid-19,” Patel said. “What I would suggest to loved ones who are looking for something hopeful for their family members, is to try and figure out if there’s a clinical trial that their family member can participate in.”

He said researchers are Swedish are also investigating the use of the life-support technology, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), in conjunction with tocilizumab.

This was the treatment that Padgett, the emergency physician, was given when he became severely ill with Covid-19 after treating patients with the virus at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland.

Patel said physicians at Swedish are also investigating the use of blood plasma from people who have had the virus to treat new patients.