Convalescent Plasma Therapy in Severe COVID-19: A Pilot Study at the Beginning of the Pandemic Outbreak in Southern Chile.

UNLABELLED

Convalescent Plasma (CP) from patients who recovered from COVID-19 may present neutralizing antibodies against viral protein S of SARS-CoV-2 and emerged as a potential therapeutic alternative for patients with severe infection at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic breakout. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect and safety of CP treatment in patients with severe COVID-19.

METHODS

We designed a quasi-experimental study that included 156 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-qPCR and severe symptoms who received CP. As a control group, we selected a historical cohort of 113 individuals admitted with COVID-19 and severe symptomatology before the starting date of the study. Clinical status and mortality during the study period were recorded.

RESULTS

There were no adverse reactions to CP administration. In the CP group, days on mechanical ventilation were significantly lower than the control group (2.8±5.08 days vs. 4.7±6.19 days; p= 0.0081). Moreover, a significant difference was observed in the number of days stayed in the critical patient unit (CPU) in CP vs. controls (4.2±5.47 vs. 5.8±6.39 days, p= 0.0281).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed no association between CP administration and survival at 14 days. Treatment with CP was safe and not associated with adverse events. In addition, using CP was associated with a reduction in both stay at the CPU and connection to mechanical ventilation.