As the pandemic of COVID-19 continues, researchers have been looking at treatment options, most recently the use of convalescent plasma has generated a great deal of interest.
So let's dive in and understand convalescent plasma therapy and its scope:
Convalescent plasma therapy is based on the theory that a patient in the convalescence phase develops antibodies for that disease in their serum, which can be used to treat other patients, after ensuring that safe blood banking practices are being followed.
Historically, convalescent plasma was used as a prophylactic agent against measles. [1] But with the advent of vaccine development and monoclonal antibodies, the use of convalescent plasma went out of practice. It has also been used for scarlet fever [2] and poliomyelitis [3]. The use of convalescent plasma was recommended as an empirical treatment during outbreaks of the Ebola virus in 2014 [4], and a protocol for the treatment of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus with convalescent plasma was established in 2015 [5].
A case series of 5 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and ARDS was done in Shenzhen, China from January 20, 2020, to March 25, 2020. [6] In this study, 5 patients with severe pneumonia (rapid progression and high viral load requiring mechanical ventilation) received SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody (via convalescent plasma), with a binding titer>1:1000 and neutralization titer>40 along with interferon, lopinavir/ritonavir, and methylprednisolone. On 28th March 2020, the FDA gave approval of IND, i.e. Investigatory new drug application to use of convalescent plasma (after approval) to treat critically ill patients. [7]
So let's dive in and understand convalescent plasma therapy and its scope:
Convalescent plasma therapy is based on the theory that a patient in the convalescence phase develops antibodies for that disease in their serum, which can be used to treat other patients, after ensuring that safe blood banking practices are being followed.
Historically, convalescent plasma was used as a prophylactic agent against measles. [1] But with the advent of vaccine development and monoclonal antibodies, the use of convalescent plasma went out of practice. It has also been used for scarlet fever [2] and poliomyelitis [3]. The use of convalescent plasma was recommended as an empirical treatment during outbreaks of the Ebola virus in 2014 [4], and a protocol for the treatment of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus with convalescent plasma was established in 2015 [5].
A case series of 5 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and ARDS was done in Shenzhen, China from January 20, 2020, to March 25, 2020. [6] In this study, 5 patients with severe pneumonia (rapid progression and high viral load requiring mechanical ventilation) received SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody (via convalescent plasma), with a binding titer>1:1000 and neutralization titer>40 along with interferon, lopinavir/ritonavir, and methylprednisolone. On 28th March 2020, the FDA gave approval of IND, i.e. Investigatory new drug application to use of convalescent plasma (after approval) to treat critically ill patients. [7]
