Evaluation of the efficacy of convalescent plasma in moderate to severe COVID-19 during 2020-2021: a retrospective observational study

Submitted: May 5, 2024
Accepted: October 18, 2024
Published: December 20, 2024
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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: 4
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Authors

Convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) is one of the treatment modalities used for COVID-19. Initial smaller studies showed the usefulness of CPT in COVID-19, but larger studies showed that it is not effective. This is a retrospective observational study conducted between 1st June 2020 and 31st July 2021 at a tertiary hospital in Noida, India. Our analysis was done on 213 COVID-19 patients, comprising 170 cases who were given convalescent plasma and 43 controls who did not get CPT. Outcomes analyzed were improvement in PaO2:FiO2 ratio (PFR) by day 5 of CPT, 28-day mortality, and level of inflammatory markers. Mean PFR before plasma transfusion was comparable between CPT and control groups (142.11±73.99 vs. 151.11±88.87, p=0.56). There was no significant difference in mean PFR after 5 days of CPT between cases and the control group (187.02±102.34 vs. 160.29±83.39, p=0.206). 28-day mortality was 47.05% in the CPT group and 37.20% in the control group (p=0.246). Mortality amongst the subgroup of patients on invasive mechanical ventilation was 89.74% in cases and 80% in controls (p=0.518). No significant difference was found in levels of serum ferritin, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein between the two groups. Convalescent plasma does not have a significant effect on day 5 PFR and 28-day mortality. Our study could not find any subgroup of patients who would benefit from CPT. This study reinforces that CPT does not benefit moderate to severe patients with COVID-19.

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Ethics Approval

The study protocol was approved by the Fortis Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee meeting, held on 6th October 2022, document number- FHIEC/2022/06.

How to Cite

Kumar, Sunny, Saurabh Mehra, Mrinal Sircar, Onkar Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Seema Sinha, and Ravneet Kaur. 2024. “Evaluation of the Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma in Moderate to Severe COVID-19 During 2020-2021: A Retrospective Observational Study”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease, December. https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2024.3050.

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