Convalescent Plasma: A Challenging Tool to Treat COVID-19 Patients—A Lesson from the Past and New Perspectives
Author
Source
Issue
Vol. 2020, Issue 2020 (31 Dec. 2020), pp.1-8, 8 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2020-09-23
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
8
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 infection as a pandemic.
Since it is a novel virus, there are basically no proven drugs or therapies; although many laboratories in different countries are working to develop a vaccine, it will take time to make it available.
Passive immunization is the therapy born from the intuition of Behring and Kisato in the late 19th century.
It was widely used for the treatment of bacterial infections until the discovery of antibiotics, as well as during the viral pandemics of the 20th century and of the beginning of the 21st; it still has clinical applications (e.g., tetanus prevention).
This paper summarizes the basic principles of passive immunization, with particular reference to convalescent plasma.
The literature concerning its use during past epidemics and the results of the first clinical studies concerning its use during the current pandemic are discussed too.
A large section is dedicated to the analysis of the possible, although rare, side effects.
Recently, in 2017, the WHO Blood Regulators Network (BRN) published a position paper, recommending convalescent plasma as the first-choice treatment to be tested in the absence of authorized drugs; however, this strategy has not been followed.
In the current epidemic, the principle of passive immunization through convalescent plasma has been applied in several circumstances and particularly in patients with serious complications.
The first reported results are encouraging and confirm the effectiveness of plasma therapy and its safety.
Also, the FDA has proposed plasma treatment in order to face the increasingly complex situation and manage patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 disease.
Several studies and clinical programs are still ongoing.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Selvi, Valeria. 2020. Convalescent Plasma: A Challenging Tool to Treat COVID-19 Patients—A Lesson from the Past and New Perspectives. BioMed Research International،Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1132621
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Selvi, Valeria. Convalescent Plasma: A Challenging Tool to Treat COVID-19 Patients—A Lesson from the Past and New Perspectives. BioMed Research International No. 2020 (2020), pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1132621
American Medical Association (AMA)
Selvi, Valeria. Convalescent Plasma: A Challenging Tool to Treat COVID-19 Patients—A Lesson from the Past and New Perspectives. BioMed Research International. 2020. Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1132621
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1132621