May 12, 2021

A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial of Convalescent Plasma in Adults with Severe COVID-19

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): treatment

• Participants with severe COVID-19 randomized to receive convalescent plasma (n=150) had significantly lower 28-day mortality (OR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.22-.91) compared to those receiving controlled plasma (n=73) in a randomized double-blind controlled trial conducted in New York and Brazil. However, no significant improvement in clinical status, as measured on an ordinal scale, was observed at 28 days (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 0.83-2.68) and the authors caution that the difference in mortality was not observed in larger inpatient trials explicitly designed to test for effects on mortality. The median titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody in infused convalescent plasma units was 1:160. No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 variants linked with neutralization escape was found in a subset of samples from Brazil.

O’Donnell et al. (May 11, 2021). A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial of Convalescent Plasma in Adults with Severe COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Investigation. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI150646