Summary:
As no specific standard therapies have been approved for
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), so prevention and
supportive care dominate the approach to COVID-19.
Exposure to this severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) results in an adaptive immune
response that commonly include antibodies with
neutralization activity. Treatments directly targeting the virus
and the inflammatory response to it remain investigational.
Convalescent plasma (CP) is such a therapy that had been
reported hundred years back in studies from the Spanish
influenza era. So the idea of convalescent plasma from
subjects who have recovered from viral infections has been
used to both prevent or treat disease. Over the past two decades’
notable examples of the successful use of convalescent plasma
(CP) include influenza, measles, Middle East respiratory
syndrome (MERS), Ebola and severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS). Two case series were recently published
by China examining the therapeutic use of CP in patients
with COVID-19. In the context of pandemic situation, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed to use
COVID-19 convalescent plasma as Investigational New Drug
(IND) since April 2020 to help patients with serious or
immediately life-threatening illness associated with COVID-
19. Case series studying convalescent plasma use in the
treatment of COVID-19 have been promising, but additional,
high-quality studies are needed to determine the efficacy of
the treatment when applied for prophylaxis, for early phases
of illness and for severe illness. Bangladesh also started
program to use convalescent plasma for severe and critical
COVID-19 patients under limited clinical trial.
Keywords: COVID-19, Convalescent plasma, eIND, NAbT,
SARS-CoV-2
(J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38: 109-115)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v38i0.47350