The survival rate in patients receiving either or both the drugs was 64% while it dropped to 34% among those who did not get any of the two. 

In the group that benefitted, the rate of discharge among those given only remdesivir was 66%, for those who got only tocilizumab it was 80%, and 47% among those given both the drugs combined.

The doctors studied the effect of remdesivir and tocilizumab on 521 patients at KEM hospital from March 23 to May 31, 2020.

Of the 334 (64%) patients discharged after being given either or both the drugs, only five needed supplemental oxygen. The doctors’ observational study was published on July 1 in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India.

The doctors found that hospitalisation (median days) was maximum in the tocilizumab group — 47 days. It was 14 days in the remdesivir group and 10 in the group receiving both drugs.

The study observed that patients below 55 years are around three times more likely to get discharged.

The chances of patients with face masks or nasal prongs surviving are 34 times higher than the ones on invasive ventilation. 

(With TNN inputs)