Field: Medicine › Infectious DiseasesType: No effect foundArea: covid-19Target: Convalescent plasmaStage: pilot
Hypothesis
Two 200 ml transfusions of convalescent plasma would reduce the need for non-invasive or mechanical ventilation in patients with severe COVID-19.
What failed
In an open-label pilot of 20 plasma versus 20 standard-care patients, ventilation was needed by 4 and 6 respectively (risk ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.22-2.0, p = 0.72); time on ventilation, biochemical measures and 28-day mortality did not differ.
Broken assumption
Passive antibody transfer from recovered patients improves respiratory outcomes once COVID-19 is already severe.
Why
The authors note the pilot was small and that the plasma group was higher risk at baseline; they call for a larger definitive trial.
From the published paper: AlQahtani et al. Scientific Reports, 2021. ↗CC BY