A new analysis shows how convalescent plasma can be used as an effective and low-cost treatment both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the inevitable pandemics of the future.
In a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, an international team of researchers analyzed clinical data and concluded that among outpatients with COVID-19, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 given early and in high dose reduced the risk of hospitalization.
The analysis included data from five studies conducted in four countries, including Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain, and two in the United States. Across the five studies, a total of 2,620 adult patients had received transfusions of convalescent plasma from January 2020 to September 2022. The researchers conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to assess how the transfusion timing and dose impacted the patient’s risk of hospitalization during the 28 days after infection.
In their analysis, the researchers found that 160 (12.2%) of 1,315 control patients were hospitalized compared with 111 (8.5%) of 1,305 patients treated with COVID-19 convalescent plasma — 30% fewer hospitalizations.
Notably, the strongest effects were seen in patients treated both early in the illness and with plasma with high levels of antibodies. In these patients, the reduction in hospitalization was over 50%.
