3.1. Patients
Between 5 August 2020 and 2 January 2021, 235 patients were prescreened for meeting the entry criteria, and 32 patients were recruited for participation in the study; of them, 15 were assigned to the anakinra plus standard care group, and 17 to the placebo plus standard care group (During the treatment duration, all participants received dexamethasone (6 mg daily) as adjunctive treatment by the primary managing service. Similar percentages of patients in the two groups received remdesivir, antibiotics, and anticoagulation. Remdesivir was administered to 12 patients (80%) in the anakinra group and 14 patients (93%) in the placebo group. Azithromycin was administered to 10 patients (67%) in the anakinra group and 8 patients (53%) in the placebo group. β-lactam antibiotics were administered to 13 patients (87%) in the anakinra group and 10 patients (67%) in the placebo group. Prophylactic anticoagulation was administered to 12 patients (80%) in the anakinra group and 15 patients (100%) in the placebo group.