Comparing the effectiveness of hyperimmune plasma and plasmapheresis in COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Introduction: In December 2019, the first clinical signs of patients infected with SARS CoV 2 surfaced, then the fatality rate rose daily with no available definitive therapy. Objectives: Considering the necessity for more research into plasma therapy, the urgency of treating patients with a severe disease, and the lack of comparable studies, we compared the effectiveness of hyperimmune plasma and plasmapheresis in COVID-19 patients. Patients and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 38 patients with severe COVID-19 were enrolled in two groups of 19 individuals treated with plasmapheresis and hyperimmune plasma after matching for severity. The researcher documented the patient’s information on a checklist submitted for statistical analysis using the SPSS software. Results: Patients comprised 60.53% of men and 39.5% of women. In this study, 60.53% of patients had underlying conditions, including hypertension and diabetes. The mean length of hospitalization for patients in the hyperimmune plasma group was considerably shorter than those in the plasmapheresis group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The average hospitalization time for patients who received hyperimmune plasma was considerably shorter than the plasmapheresis group. As a result, patients are encouraged to utilize this type of plasma at the earliest stages of the condition.