The emergent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiorgan dysfunction are among the leading causes of death in critically ill patients with COVID-19. The elevated inflammatory cytokines suggest that a cytokine storm, also known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), may play a major role in the pathology of COVID-19. However, the efficacy of corticosteroids, commonly utilized antiinflammatory agents, to treat COVID-19-induced CRS is controversial. There is an urgent need for novel therapies to treat COVID-19-induced CRS. Here, we discuss the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-induced CRS, compare the CRS in COVID-19 with that in SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and summarize the existing therapies for CRS. We propose to utilize interleukin-6 (IL-6) blockade to manage COVID-19-induced CRS and discuss several factors that should be taken into consideration for its clinical application.

中文翻译：

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我们可以使用白细胞介素 6 (IL-6) 阻断剂来治疗 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 诱导的细胞因子释放综合征 (CRS) 吗？


2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 的突然爆发已引起全球大流行。急性呼吸窘迫综合征 (ARDS) 和多器官功能障碍是 COVID-19 危重患者死亡的主要原因之一。炎症细胞因子升高表明细胞因子风暴，也称为细胞因子释放综合征（CRS），可能在 COVID-19 的病理学中发挥重要作用。然而，常用的抗炎药皮质类固醇治疗 COVID-19 引起的 CRS 的疗效存在争议。迫切需要新疗法来治疗 COVID-19 诱发的 CRS。在此，我们讨论严重急性呼吸综合征（SARS）引起的CRS的发病机制，比较COVID-19与SARS和中东呼吸综合征（MERS）的CRS，并总结现有的CRS治疗方法。我们建议利用白介素 6 (IL-6) 阻断来治疗 COVID-19 引起的 CRS，并讨论其临床应用应考虑的几个因素。