Blood plasma therapy may reduce need for oxygen support in Covid-19 patients, suggests study
A treatment that dates back to more than a century called plasma therapy might help lower the need for oxygen support in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, according to a new study. It added that patients who do not yet need ventilators might reap the most benefits. Plasma therapy uses antibodies, otherwise called Convalescent plasma transfusion that uses antibodies extracted from survivors' blood to target the new coronavirus.
Experts have tested it against the 1918 Spanish flu, and most recently, measles, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and others. Some have pinned their hopes on the experimental treatment, but only further studies will tell whether it succeeds or not.
"Convalescent plasma transfusion is a potentially efficacious treatment option for patients hospitalized with Covid-19," the authors wrote in their study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet. The team from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City arrived at these findings after testing the therapy on 39 hospitalized patients with severe to life-threatening Covid-19. They then compared them with a group that did not receive the treatment.
In this study, the team looked at how 39 patients responded to the plasma infusion. They monitored their oxygen needs and survival rates on days one, seven, and 14 after therapy. On days one and seven, the number of patients in the plasma group with low oxygen levels was reduced. By day 14, the condition worsened in 18 % of participants in the plasma group, compared to 24.3% in the control group.
"Convalescent plasma recipients were more likely than control patients to remain the same or have improvements in their supplemental oxygen requirements by post-transfusion day 14," the authors wrote in their study. Mount Sinai virologist Nicole Bouvier, one of the study’s authors, told Science that "at least we showed that there is some benefit to convalescent plasma."
As for the survival rate, the plasma group seemed to have fared better. About 72% of the plasma recipients survived and 13% died while nearly 67% recovered, and 24% perished in the control group. However, the team warned that the differences were not statistically significant. Though plasma therapy appears promising, experts call for extensive studies to draw definitive conclusions. "We clearly need rigorous clinical trials," Klaus Cichutek, head of Germany's Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany, told Science. Such trials are on in Germany, United Kingdom and United States. Researchers expect to see results in the months ahead.
An earlier study evaluated the safety of plasma therapy on 5,000 severely ill patients and suggested that it was safe. Fewer than one percent developed adverse reactions to the therapy. Only 14.9% of the patients died seven days after treatment, the analysis found. The team said it would collect and review more safety data and continue studies to determine the efficacy of the experimental treatment in the coming days.
"This is just the beginning of the reporting process. We are optimistic but must remain objective as we assess increasing amounts of patient data," Dr Michael Joyner, head of the EAP at Mayo Clinic, said in a statement.