Blood plasma from those who've beaten COVID-19 doesn't stop sick patients getting sicker
Randomised controlled trial: Subjects are randomly assigned to a test group, which receives the treatment, or a control group, which commonly receives a placebo. In 'blind' trials, participants do not know which group they are in; in ‘double blind’ trials, the experimenters do not know either. Blinding trials helps removes bias.
People: This is a study based on research using people.
Blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19, called convalescent plasma, does not prevent disease progression when it is given to high-risk outpatients within 1 week after the onset of symptoms of Covid-19. It had been hoped that early administration of convalescent plasma may prevent disease progression in acutely ill, high-risk patients with Covid-19, however the study of over 500 patients showed no benefit. Disease progression occurred in 77 patients who received convalescent-plasma compared to 81 patients who received placebo. Five patients in the plasma group and 1 patient in the placebo group died. Outcomes regarding worst illness severity and hospital-free days were similar in the two groups.
Journal/conference: New England Journal of Medicine
Link to research (DOI): 10.1056/NEJMoa2103784
Organisation/s: University of Pittsburgh, USA
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