The effectiveness of plasma from people cured of COVID-19 as a treatment for the disease has been a question that has arisen in the medical-scientific community since the start of the pandemic.
According to the latest information from the Cochrane review published on this subject on February 1, 2023, the answer is clearly negative for moderate and severe forms of Covid-19 and probably negative for mild forms.
Research has shown that plasma from convalescent people contains antibodies against the virus and can be used successfully to treat other viruses.
The researchers wanted to determine if convalescent plasma was an effective treatment for patients with COVID-19. They looked at several aspects, including the all-cause mortality rate after treatment with convalescent plasma, the worsening of patients’ condition measured by the number of people who needed mechanical ventilation or who died, as well as the improvement in the condition of patients measured by the number of patients discharged from hospital. Patient quality of life and potential adverse effects were also examined. The most recent data analyzed is from March 3, 2022.
No efficacy against moderate and severe forms
Scientists have determined that convalescent plasma has no benefit for treating people with moderate to severe COVID-19.
The results showed that convalescent plasma did not reduce deaths from all causes and made little or no difference in the need for invasive mechanical ventilation or death. Participants who were discharged from hospital also did not experience significant improvement in their condition.
Little evidence on mild forms
For people with a mild form of COVID-19, the evidence was still limited. However, convalescent plasma does not appear to make a significant difference in terms of death, hospital admission, time to resolution of symptoms, or serious adverse effects.
As a result, there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend the use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, especially for patients with moderate to severe disease.
https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013600.pub5
