The effect of convalescent plasma on the treatment of COVID‑19 patients in Ardabil, Iran
نویسندگان
1 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
2 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
3 Department of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Science, Ardabil, Iran
4 Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
5 Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
6 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
7 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
8 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
9 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
10 Department of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Science, Ardabil, Iran
11 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
12 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
13 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
14 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
15 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
doi
چکیده
BACKGROUND: Infection with COVID‑19 has resulted in considerable mortality all around the world.This study aimed to investigate the effect of convalescent plasma on the treatment of hospitalizedpatients with COVID‑19 in Imam Khomeini Hospital at Ardabil, Iran.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this quasi‑experimental clinical trial, patients over 18 years of agewith polymerase chain reaction‑positive COVID‑19 were admitted based on the clinical criteria ofrespiratory distress with hypoxia (O2 saturation <90) and tachypnea (R Relative Risk (RR) >24) withmoderate‑to‑severe lung involvement and in the 1st week of respiratory disease who were not intubatedwere nonrandomly assigned to two groups: convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) group (197 cases)and control group (200 cases). We used the Chi‑square, t‑test, Fisher’s exact test, and Pearson’scorrelation coefficient for statistical analysis.RESULTS: Analyses revealed that length of stay in hospital was significantly lower in the CPT groupas compared to the control group (P = 0.001). Twenty‑four cases (22.0%) in the CPT group and85 cases (78.0%) in the control group needed intubation. Furthermore, mortality was 17 cases (18.3%)in the CPT group and 76 cases (81.7%) in the control group, the difference of which was also foundto be statistically significant (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: It seems that CPT can be used as an alternative treatment at the early stages ofCOVID‑19 to prevent the progress of the disease, reduce the need for intubation and consequentlythe length of stay in hospital, and finally, decrease mortality.
