Clinical efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma therapy for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Aim: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma therapy for patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Materials and methods: the study included 64 patients with laboratory-confirmed severe new coronavirus infection. The control group consisted of 58 patients who, in addition to standard therapy, received a transfusion of plasma from donors who had recovered from COVID-19. The effectiveness of immune plasma was assessed by the duration of fever, the level of oxygen (SpO₂ %) in dynamics, the detection of SARSCoV-2 RNA in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs using PCR method in dynamics, as well as by the dynamics of blood tests results. Adverse events (any medically adverse events that occurred after immune plasma transfusion) were recorded as safety criteria.

Results: patients who received convalescent plasma, showed a significantly shorter period of SARS-CoV-2 replication compared with the control group. The use of immune plasma did not have a statistically significant effect on the duration of the fever, as well as the dynamics of blood oxygenation. Also, there were no significant differences compared with the control group when assessing blood tests parameters.

Conclusion: The use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma to treat severe COVID-19 did not show significant clinical effect but reduced the period of viral replication. It also showed no unexpected or serious adverse events. 

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