Effects of Plasma Therapy on Laboratory Factors and Clinical Improvement of COVID-19 Patients

Behrooz Ghezelbash; Marjan Golabi; Negah Tavakol; Azam Mesgari; Reihaneh shamsfar; Ramin Sami; Nahid Eskandari

doi:10.18502/abi.v2i1.16246

Behrooz Ghezelbash Laboratory Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Marjan Golabi Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran
Negah Tavakol Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan, Iran
Azam Mesgari Isfahan Regional Educational Blood Transfusion Center, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran.
Reihaneh shamsfar Isfahan Regional Educational Blood Transfusion Center, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran.
Ramin Sami Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Khorshid Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran Isfahan, Iran.
Nahid Eskandari Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/abi.v2i1.16246

Keywords: COVID-19; Plasma Therapy; Clinical Improvement; Laboratory Factors

Abstract

Objectives: Over 50 million confirmed cases and 1.5 million fatalities worldwide have been linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have used convalescent plasma (CP) from recovered patients, which includes neutralizing antibodies, to develop therapeutics for virus neutralization and prevention. This study assessed the effectiveness of CP using several clinical and laboratory variables.

Methods: The intervention group received two doses of CP on the day of hospitalization, while the control group received standard care. Clinical and analytical data were documented and evaluated before plasma therapy and on the third and fifth days after therapy. The results were measured in the patient’s blood using the ELISA method.

Results: The present study showed that the ICU hospitalization times for the control and CP groups were similar, with a slightly lower mortality rate in the CP group (6.2% vs. 8.2%, p > 0.05). There was no significant association between COVID-19 and clinical factors such as blood pressure, heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), and temperature. The blood serum urea, serum LDH, ALT, PTT, PLT, and IL-6 were significantly higher in the CP group than in the control group (p <0.05). Our results indicated that there was no difference in blood pH, PO2 , HCO3 , ESR, WBC counts, serum troponin, Na, AST, CRP, D-dimer, and PT between patients in the CP and control groups.

Conclusion: Overall, in certain instances, CP therapy may help individuals with COVID-19 recover. In general, additional research is required to determine the efficacy of plasma treatment in COVID-19 patient care.