Treatment With Convalescent Plasma for Critically Ill Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection

Abstract

As of March 24, 2020, novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for 379,661 infection cases with 16,428 deaths globally, and the number is still increasing rapidly. Herein, we present four critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who received supportive care and convalescent plasma. Although all four patients (including a pregnant woman) recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection eventually, randomized trials are needed to eliminate the effect of other treatments and investigate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; convalescent plasma; critical illness.

Figure 1

Timeline of symptom onset, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing, antiviral therapies, severe complications, convalescent plasma transfusion, levels of virus load and antibodies after transfusion, and outcomes of the four critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. CRRT = continuous renal replacement therapy; F = female; M = male; PCR = polymerase chain reaction; V-V ECMO = veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.