OBJECTIVES: Assessment of the safety of anti-interleukin drugs used as a part of the COVID-19 pathogenetic therapy of in relation to the risks of developing infectious complications.

METHODS: A systematic review of publications relating to the safety assessment in terms of the incidence of serious adverse events (AEs), as well as adverse events related to the class "Infections and invasions" of anti-interleukin drugs recommended for use as pathogenetic therapy for COVID-19 was carried out.

RESULTS: The resulting meta-analysis included 16 randomized and 3 non-randomized studies. The risk ratio (RR) for developing serious adverse events in the comparison groups was 0.93 [95% CI 0.85; 1.01] (p=0.1), the risk ratio of "Infections and invasions" was 0.9 [95% CI 0.8; 1.02] (p=0.09), which indicated no differences in the frequency of these events between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS: A meta-analysis of the results of a systematic review did not show statistically significant differences in the relative risks of developing serious adverse events and adverse events belonging to the class "Infections and infestations" when using anti-interleukin drugs in the treatment of COVID-19. Given the known data on the unsafety of this class of drugs when used in chronic non-communicable diseases in relation to the risks of reactivation of chronic infections, and due to the masking of secondary infectious complications against the background of COVID-19, further epidemiological studies are required to identify and clarify the risks of secondary bacterial infection complications in the COVID-19 patient population.