Plasma therapy not beneficial in reducing mortality and Covid progression: ICMR study

Use of Convalescent Plasma (CP) therapy in Coronavirus-infected patients does not help in reducing mortality or progression to severe COVID-19, a study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found. The apex medical research body has made these revelations to investigate the effectiveness of plasma therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 after conducting a study in 39 hospitals across India.

Study conducted on 464 participants

The 'open-label parallel-arm phase II multicentre randomized controlled trial' (PLACID Trial) was conducted across India between April 22 and July 14, it said. A total of 464 participants (moderately ill COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals) were enrolled for the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and has appeared on medRxiv, a preprint server. The National Task Force for COVID-19, a committee formed by the ICMR to respond to the pandemic, has reviewed and approved this study, it said.

Out of 464 moderately ill Coronavirus infected hospitalised patients, 235 were given convalescent plasma along with best of standard care while 229 received only standard care, as per the study. According to the study, participants were randomized to either control or intervention arm. Two doses of 200 ml CP was transfused 24 hours apart in the intervention arm.

"Composite primary outcome was achieved in 44 (18.7%) participants in the intervention arm and 41 (17.9%) in the control arm. Mortality was documented in 34 (13.6%) and 31 (14.6%) participants in intervention and control arm, respectively," study mentioned.

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'Not associated with a reduction in mortality'

"Convalescent Plasma was not associated with a reduction in mortality or progression to severe COVID-19. This trial has high generalizability and approximates real-life setting of Convalescent Plasma therapy in settings with limited laboratory capacity. A prior measurement of neutralizing antibody titres in donors and participants may further clarify the role of CP in the management of COVID-19," concluded the findings of the study.

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The Convalescent Plasma therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from Coronavirus and transfusing those into an active COVID-19 patient to help kick-start the immune system to fight the infection. Convalescent Plasma therapy has received regulatory approval for use in patients in different countries, leading to its wide adoption.

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Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 case tally crossed 43 lakh mark on Wednesday with a spike of 89,706 new cases & 1,115 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. The total case tally stands at 43,70,129 including 8,97,394 active cases, 33,98,845 cured/discharged/migrated & 73,890 deaths, the Ministry of Health said.

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(With agency inputs)