COVID-19 convalescent plasma treatment of moderate and severe cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection: A multicenter interventional study

Highlights • Convalescent plasma is adjunct treatment in COVID-19 moderate and severe disease. • Clinical improvement is noticed in COVID-19 disease after convalescent plasma. • Mortality is significantly reduced after COVID-19 convalescent plasma treatment.
Objective To study the effectiveness of CCP therapy for moderate and severe COVID-19 disease patients in Kuwait. Methods This non-randomized prospective cohort study was conducted from May 21, 2020, to June 30, 2020, at four major tertiary hospitals in Kuwait. CCP was administered to 135 patients. The control group comprised 233 patients who received standard treatment. All patients (N = 368, median age 54 [range 15-82] years) had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and either moderate or severe COVID-19 disease. Results CCP treatment was significantly associated with a higher rate of clinical improvement in patients with moderate or severe disease. Among those with moderate COVID-19 disease, time to clinical improvement was 7 days in the CCP group versus 8 days in the control group (p = 0·006). For severe COVID-19 disease, time to clinical improvement was 7 days in the CCP group versus 15.5 days in the control group (p = 0·003). In the adjusted analysis, the CCP-treated patients with moderate disease had significantly lower 30-day mortality. Compared to the control group, oxygen saturation improved within 3 days of CCP transfusion, and lymphocyte counts improved from day 7 in patients with moderate disease and day 11 in patients with severe disease. Furthermore, C-reactive protein declined throughout the first 14 days after CCP transfusion. None of the CCP patients developed a serious transfusion reaction. Conclusions The data show that administration of CCP is a safe treatment option for patients with COVID-19 disease, with a favorable outcome in the rate and time to clinical improvement.