Convalescent Plasma Has Potential Utility for Managing COVID-19

In the search for an effective approach to manage COVID-19, researchers in China evaluated the administration of convalescent plasma to five critically ill patients (age range, 36–73). All recipients were mechanically ventilated and had been on steroids and at least two of the following agents: lopinavir/ritonavir, interferon alfa-1b, favipiravir, arbidol, and darunavir. Between 10 and 22 days after hospital admission, each patient received two infusions of plasma (total volume, 400 mL) from donors who had recently recovered from COVID-19. Receptor-binding–specific antibodies and neutralizing antibody titers of donors and recipients were comparable prior to infusion.

Between 2 and 9 days after infusion, three patients were extubated (with discharge after hospital stays ranging from 51 to 55 days). Two patients remained intubated and in stable condition (length of hospital stay since infusion, 37 days). The inflammatory markers IL-6, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin declined in four patients; in the fifth patient, two of the three markers declined. Viremia had cleared in all five patients by 1 to 12 days postinfusion.