The effect of convalescent plasma on the treatment of COVID‑19 patients in Ardabil, Iran

Infection with COVID‑19 has resulted in considerable mortality all around the world. This study aimed to investigate the effect of convalescent plasma on the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID‑19 in Imam Khomeini Hospital at Ardabil, Iran.

In this quasi‑experimental clinical trial, patients over 18 years of age with polymerase chain reaction‑positive COVID‑19 were admitted based on the clinical criteria of respiratory distress with hypoxia (O2 saturation <90) and tachypnea (R Relative Risk (RR) >24) with moderate‑to‑severe lung involvement and in the 1st week of respiratory disease who were not intubated were nonrandomly assigned to two groups: convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) group (197 cases) and control group (200 cases). We used the Chi‑square, t‑test, Fisher’s exact test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient for statistical analysis.

Analyses revealed that length of stay in hospital was significantly lower in the CPT group as compared to the control group (P = 0.001). Twenty‑four cases (22.0%) in the CPT group and 85 cases (78.0%) in the control group needed intubation. Furthermore, mortality was 17 cases (18.3%) in the CPT group and 76 cases (81.7%) in the control group, the difference of which was also found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05).

It seems that CPT can be used as an alternative treatment at the early stages of COVID‑19 to prevent the progress of the disease, reduce the need for intubation and consequently the length of stay in hospital, and finally, decrease mortality