Mortality Reduction in ICU-Admitted COVID-19 Patients in Suriname after Treatment with Convalescent Plasma Acquired Via Gravity Filtration

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Author Info

Rosita Bihariesingh R Bansie J Froberg N Ramdhani R Mangroo D Bustamente E Diaz I Thakoer S Vreden Z Choudhry W Jansen Klomp D A Diavatopoulos A Nierich

Corresponding Author

Rosita Bihariesingh
Department of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care, Academic Hospital, Paramaribo, Suriname

A B S T R A C T

Introduction: Although convalescent plasma (CP) treatment is a potential therapeutic option for patients with COVID-19, there is a paucity of data from intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19 in low-resource settings, such as Suriname. CP was produced by a novel gravity-based filtration method. Methods: In an open-label, multi-center, non-randomized prospective clinical trial, patients with severe or life- threatening COVID-19 symptoms (n=28) with CP treatment were compared with standard treatment alone (n=50). A pre-planned interim analysis is reported. The primary endpoint was a 28-day ICU mortality. Secondary endpoints were changes two days after treatment initiation in pulmonary oxygen exchange capacity (PF ratio) and chest x-ray (CXR) score. Results: Mortality occurred in 18% (CP: 5/28) vs. 36% (Control:18/50). CP treatment of severe COVID-19 resulted in a higher probability of survival, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.22 (95% CI, 0.074-0.067), correcting for age, the presence of diabetes and COVID-19 severity. In the severe group, CP resulted in an improved CXR score (P = 0.0013) and increase in PF ratio (P = 0.011) as compared to standard therapy. The gravity-based plasmapheresis method used for CP production was well-tolerated and no adverse events were observed in the donors. Discussion: CP therapy in combination with standard treatment resulted in 78% reduction of 28-day ICU mortality (HR = 0.22) compared to standard treatment alone. Both CXR-score and PF ratio changes represent effective indicators for the treatment effect of CP after two days. The novel CP production method was effective and represents a practical solution for Low- and middle-income countries to produce CP.

Article Info

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received: Mon 13, Sep 2021
Accepted: Thu 30, Sep 2021
Published: Sat 16, Oct 2021

Copyright

© 2023 Rosita Bihariesingh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.ACR.2021.02.03