A cross-sectional study of baricitinib outcome in severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Introduction: An inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, due to cytokine release syndrome, has been implicated in the pathology of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with COVID-19 Baricitinib is a reversible JAK-inhibitor that interrupts the multiple inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 immunopathology Objectives: Our aim to study the overall outcome of baricitinib on critical patients with COVID-19 Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of 10 cases, infected with COVID-19 severe pneumonia and were critically ill The patient's average ICU stay, CBC, changes in HRCT scans, clinical improvement, cytokine storm markers before and after baricitinib doses were taken into account Due consent was taken from all patients Results: Seventy percent of patients showed a reduction in CRP values In 70% of patients, D-dimer values either decreased or were kept within normal limits 90% of patients were shifted from NIV support to NRBM within 7 days of baricitinib 50% of patients showed a rising trend in platelet counts 70% patients were shifted to ward from ICU 30% patients were discharged within 7 days of Baricitinib Discussions: Baricitinib is the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, which may prevent cytokine storm in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia Conclusion: In our study, baricitinib has shown promising results It is incumbent on researchers to develop and validate reliable tools to monitor the overall outcome of patients with baricitinib in COVID-19