The Effect of Convalescent Plasma Therapy on Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

• Published in: Mayo Clinic proceedings Vol. 96; no. 5; p. 1262
• Main Authors: Klassen, Stephen A, Senefeld, Jonathon W, Johnson, Patrick W, Carter, Rickey E, Wiggins, Chad C, Shoham, Shmuel, Grossman, Brenda J, Henderson, Jeffrey P, Musser, James, Salazar, Eric, Hartman, William R, Bouvier, Nicole M, Liu, Sean T H, Pirofski, Liise-Anne, Baker, Sarah E, van Helmond, Noud, Wright, R Scott, Fairweather, DeLisa, Bruno, Katelyn A, Wang, Zhen, Paneth, Nigel S, Casadevall, Arturo, Joyner, Michael J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.05.2021
• Subjects: COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - therapy; COVID-19 Serotherapy; Humans; Immunization, Passive - methods; Mortality; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Time-to-Treatment
• ISSN: 1942-5546
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.02.008

To determine the effect of COVID-19 convalescent plasma on mortality, we aggregated patient outcome data from 10 randomized clinical trials, 20 matched control studies, 2 dose-response studies, and 96 case reports or case series. Studies published between January 1, 2020, and January 16, 2021, were identified through a systematic search of online PubMed and MEDLINE databases. Random effects analyses of randomized clinical trials and matched control data demonstrated that patients with COVID-19 transfused with convalescent plasma exhibited a lower mortality rate compared with patients receiving standard treatments. Additional analyses showed that early transfusion (within 3 days of hospital admission) of higher titer plasma is associated with lower patient mortality. These data provide evidence favoring the efficacy of human convalescent plasma as a therapeutic agent in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.