Pakistan’s health authorities released the preliminary findings of ongoing clinical trials of plasma therapy to treat the COVID-19 patients in the country, on Monday.
According to Dr. Tahir Shamsi, head of the National Institute of Blood Diseases, 14 patients having severe to critical disease were treated with plasma therapy during the trial.
The findings have been released a week after Pakistani doctors claimed a successful clinical trial of passive immunization after a coronavirus patient recovered through plasma therapy.
Overall 86% of the patients, according to the findings, had achieved positive outcomes as per the laid down criteria of this clinical trial.
Twelve out of 14 patients (86%), who suffered from progressively severe disease, recovered without the need of ventilator, it said, adding that along with clinical improvement, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of six patients (43%) became negative by the eighth day of plasma infusion.
Out of 12 recovered patients, 6 were discharged home on ninth day of receiving plasma, while six others are stable and recovering in the hospital.
“Two critically ill COVID patients who were already on ventilator, received plasma infusion; one expired due to ventilator associated complications despite of becoming COVID PCR negative. Second expired due to cytokine storm”, he added.
The report recommends an early use of plasma in COVID-19 patients who are in moderate to severe stage of disease to prevent disease progression to critical stage requiring ventilator.
