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Published on: January 5, 2016
[Transfusion of convalescent plasma from patients with COVID -19]
César A Galván1,2, Crhistian Toribio-Dionicio2,3, Marco Álvarez-Ángeles2,4
1Unidad Funcional de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología (UFAAI) del Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño (INSN), Lima, Perú.
Insights
Convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT) shows promise for treating COVID-19. This therapy improved patient outcomes, reduced mortality, and demonstrated a low frequency of adverse events in severe and critical cases.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- No specific antiviral medication or vaccine exists for COVID-19.
- Treatment primarily relies on supportive care measures.
- Convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT) is being investigated as a potential therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of CPT in patients with COVID-19.
- To review existing literature on CPT for COVID-19, SARS, and MERS.
Main Methods:
- A literature search was conducted on PubMed for studies involving convalescent plasma and COVID-19, SARS, or MERS.
- 13 studies on CPT in severe and critical COVID-19 patients were identified and analyzed.
Main Results:
- CPT demonstrated clinical improvement, enhanced ventilatory patterns, and resolution of lung injuries in COVID-19 patients.
- Treatment led to decreased mortality, improved laboratory parameters, increased neutralizing antibodies, and reduced viral load.
- Adverse events associated with CPT were infrequent.
Conclusions:
- CPT is a potentially beneficial therapy for severe and critical COVID-19.
- Despite methodological limitations in current studies, CPT shows a favorable safety profile and clinical efficacy.
Abstract:
There is currently no vaccine available and no specific medication against Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19). The treatment is mainly based on support measures. In this context, several potentially useful therapies have been approved for use in clinical trials, such as convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT). PubMed was searched for studies on convalescent plasma and COVID-19, SARS or MERS. Studies on clinical efficacy in diseases caused by other coronaviruses (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV) showed clinical improvement, increase of neutralizing antibodies, decreased mortality and absence of adverse events during and after treatment. We found 13 studies on this type of treatment used in patients with severe and critical COVID-19. Despite limitations regarding methodology, number of patients and the protocols for the analysis of donors' convalescent plasma, patients who received CPT showed clinical improvement, improvement of ventilatory patterns, resolution of lung injuries, decreased mortality, improvement of laboratory parameters, increase of neutralizing antibodies, decreased viral load and low frequency of adverse events.
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