Multi-institutional experience with COVID-19 convalescent plasma in children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric infectious diseases
• Immunology
• Hematology

Background:

• Convalescent COVID-19 plasma (CCP) provides passive immunity and has been used in adults.
• Pediatric data on CCP use and safety is limited.
• A multi-institutional registry was established to study pediatric CCP recipients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize pediatric patients (<18 years) who received CCP.
• To assess the safety and tolerability of CCP in children.
• To evaluate the impact of CCP on clinical severity scores in pediatric COVID-19 patients.

Main Methods:

• A REDCap survey collected de-identified data from a pediatric CCP registry.
• Data included demographics, COVID-19 features, concurrent treatments, CCP transfusion details, and safety events.
• Therapy response and clinical outcomes were recorded.

Main Results:

• Ninety-five children (median age 10.2 years) received CCP, primarily as treatment.
• Transfusions were well-tolerated with 3 mild reactions and no serious adverse events.
• Severity scores improved 7 days post-transfusion, and 94.4% of inpatients survived.

Conclusions:

• Convalescent COVID-19 plasma (CCP) is safe and well-tolerated in pediatric patients.
• CCP was often administered with other COVID-19 treatments.
• While improved clinical severity was observed, CCP efficacy requires further study.