SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia in an adult with cystic fibrosis: natural favourable clinical course or effective therapy?

Maddalena Giglia; Giacomo Beci; Elena Rosselli Del Turco; Viola Guardigni; Alberto Amedeo; Giulia Cucchetto; Gabriella Verucchi; Marco Cipolli; Leonardo Calza; Pierluigi Viale

doi:10.4081/monaldi.2020.1579

https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2020.1579

Authors

Maddalena Giglia | maddalena.giglia@studio.unibo.it Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3838-4041
Giacomo Beci Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8528-3924
Elena Rosselli Del Turco Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9059-4804
Viola Guardigni Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2769-7325
Alberto Amedeo Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3787-0846
Giulia Cucchetto Cystic Fibrosis Regional Centre, AOUI Verona, Italy.
Gabriella Verucchi Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy.
Marco Cipolli Cystic Fibrosis Regional Centre, AOUI Verona, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5652-7248
Leonardo Calza Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy.
Pierluigi Viale Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Clinics of Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy.

Abstract

We report the case of a man affected by cystic fibrosis who developed a severe SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia in March 2020. In addition to lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine, he was treated with two doses of tocilizumab, displaying a significant clinical improvement. This is the first case described in the literature of an adult patient affected by cystic fibrosis who received tocilizumab for COVID-19, with documented total recovery, also assessed by a spirometry.