May 10, 2021

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

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): treatment

• A systematic review and meta-analysis found that patients with COVID-19 who received convalescent plasma in randomized clinical trials (n=10 studies) and matched control studies (n=20 studies) had lower mortality rates compared with patients receiving standard treatments (OR = 0.58). In addition, exploratory analysis found that early treatment (within 3 days of hospital admission) of higher titer plasma was associated with lower mortality compared to later treatment (OR = 0.44 vs. OR = 0.79). The authors determined that the number of patients who would need to be treated to avoid one death was 11. The study included results published between January 1, 2020 and January 16, 2021 from randomized trials, matched control trials, dose-response studies, and case series or case reports published on preprint servers. 

Klassen et al. (May 2021). The Effect of Convalescent Plasma Therapy on Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.02.008