Telangana sets up panel to approve use of Tocilizumab for critical COVID-19 patients

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has set up a three-member committee to look into the allocation of the drug Tocilizumab for critical ICU patients.

On Friday, the health department issued a memo stating that the government has constituted the committee for allocation of Tocilizumab to COVID-19 patients in both government and private hospitals in the state. The members would be the Director, Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences, Director of Medical Education and Director of Public Health and Family Welfare.

These three members will scrutinize the applications made by hospitals for the use of the drug on COVID-19 patients. The order says, "Office of the Director of Medical Education will receive the request for Tocilizumab from the hospitals for specific patients and place it immediately before the committee."

The state has likely put in such extreme measures and protocols after the Centre took control of the drug's distribution. Until 27th April, the state had only 160 doses of the drug allocated by the Centre.

The other criteria that make a patient eligible for this drug are - no active bacterial/fungal/tubercular infection, and not improving despite the use of steroids.
The patient must also have significantly raised inflammatory markers (CRP &/or IL-6) and have the presence of severe disease (preferably within 24 to 48 hours of onset of severe disease/ICU admission).

The hospital must also appoint a three-member committee to process each request. The order says, "The patient-wise request from hospitals should have a detailed recommendation of a team of three (3) specialist doctors from the hospital, which is indenting the drug, after assessment of the patient's condition."

Tocilizumab is one of the treatment options being used by hospitals to help COVID-19 patients in light of the fact that the other commonly used drug Remdesivir is out of stock. Though the efficacy of the drug is still not clear for COVID-19, it is widely being prescribed.