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Convalescent plasma as an adjunctive therapy for COVID-19: A single centre experience in Malaysia
K T Lee1, W C Yeoh2, N H Zainul3
1Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Medical Department, Kedah, Malaysia. keetat.lee@gmail.com.
Insights
Convalescent plasma (CP) treatment for severe COVID-19 showed potential benefits, improving oxygen support and laboratory markers. Early administration during the viraemic phase may prevent disease progression, though further randomized trials are needed.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Hematology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for effective treatments.
- Convalescent plasma (CP) has a history of use in treating viral infections.
- No definitive treatment currently exists to alter COVID-19's course.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of convalescent plasma (CP) in treating severe COVID-19.
- To assess clinical outcomes in severe COVID-19 patients receiving CP.
- Conducted at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah, Malaysia.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cross-sectional study.
- Inclusion of severe COVID-19 patients treated with CP from August to December 2020.
- Comparison of clinical outcomes before and after CP transfusion.
Main Results:
- Thirty-four patients received CP; common symptoms included fever and cough.
- Fourteen patients showed improved oxygen support post-transfusion.
- Statistically significant improvements observed in lymphocyte count and C-reactive protein levels.
- CP was well-tolerated with no severe adverse events; one patient developed urticaria.
- Median time to CP transfusion was 5 days post-diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- Convalescent plasma (CP) is well-tolerated for severe COVID-19.
- Early CP administration during the viraemic phase may prevent disease progression.
- Further randomized controlled trials are recommended to determine optimal dosage and effectiveness, considering IgG titers.
Introduction:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed a significant and urgent threat to global health and economy. Currently, there is no effective treatment known to alter the course of COVID-19. Convalescent plasma (CP) has been used previously to treat several types of infections during pandemics. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of CP in the treatment of severe COVID-19 infections at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah, Malaysia.
Materials And Methods:
A retrospective cross-sectional study of all severe COVID-19 patients who received CP treatment from 1st August 2020 until 31st December 2020 was conducted. Clinical outcomes were compared before and after CP transfusion.
Results:
Thirty-four patients were enrolled and received CP transfusion during the study period. The most common presenting complaints were fever (64.7%) and cough (58.8%). Fourteen patients showed improvement in oxygen support after CP transfusion. Several laboratory parameters also improved such as increased lymphocyte count (1.48 vs 1.98, p=0.008) and decreased C-reactive protein levels (28.1 vs 10.6, p=0.004), and these were statistically significant. Median time from symptoms onset to CP transfusion was 6 days (range 1-11) while median time from PCR diagnosis to CP transfusion was 5 days (range 1-11). One patient developed urticaria after CP transfusion and no severe adverse events were observed. Two of our patients passed away due to secondary causes.
Conclusion:
This study showed CP treatment was well tolerated and could potentially prevent progression of COVID-19 to a severe disease if administered early during the viraemic phase. Further evaluation with randomized control trial should be conducted to help ascertain the optimal dose and effectiveness of CP treatment, in correlation with the IgG titer of the donated CP.
