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By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Early in the COVID-19<\/a> pandemic, anecdotal reports suggested that infusing very sick patients with the blood plasma of people who’d survived the disease might help boost outcomes.<\/p>\n But study findings released Nov. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>, along with disappointing results from prior trials, suggest that those initial hopes may have been unfounded.<\/p>\n The new study was conducted by researchers in Argentina. It compared outcomes for 228 hospitalized COVID-19<\/a> patients who got an infusion of so-called “convalescent plasma” against those of 105 patients who did not (the “placebo group”). All were so sick as to have developed pneumonia<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, one month later, “no significant difference was noted between the convalescent plasma group and the placebo group” in terms of clinical outcomes, with about 11% of patients dying in both groups, according to a team led by Dr. V.A. Simonovich of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n The theory behind the use of survivors’ blood plasma in people battling COVID-19<\/a> is that plasma contains immune system agents that might aid recipients in their fight against the disease.<\/p>\n But a prior study from India \u2014 this time in patients with “moderate” COVID-19<\/a> \u2014 also found little benefit of the treatment in stopping illness from progressing to a more severe stage. That study was led by Dr. Anup Agarwal, of the Indian Council of Medical Research in New Delhi, and was published Oct. 22 in the BMJ<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to one U.S. expert unconnected to either trial, it may be time to give up on convalescent plasma as a viable COVID-19<\/a> treatment.<\/p>\n “There have been several major trials that have shown the same results: Convalescent plasma does not seem to have an impact on the course of COVID-19<\/a>,” said Dr. Mangala Narasimhan. She’s senior vice president and director of Critical Care Services at Northwell Health, in New Hyde Park, N.Y.<\/p>\n Narasimhan also noted that in the Argentinian trial, “even with good measurement of the amount of antibody they were giving people [in the transfusions], there was no benefit seen.”<\/p>\n She believes that other treatments should remain first-line options for severe COVID-19.<\/p>\n “The new monoclonal antibodies will give a more targeted and reliable antibody load to COVID-19 patients and may have an impact on the course of disease if given early after positive testing,” Narasimhan said.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Find out more about how to treat coronavirus at home from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n SOURCES: New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>, Nov. 24, 2020; Mangala Narasimhan, DO, SVP, director of critical care services, Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, N.Y.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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