NEW DELHI: Data analysis presented at a webinar for physicians by US researchers studying the efficacy of plasma therapy in Covid treatment showed it could possibly reduce mortality by about 50%, according to a report in Wall Street Journal. The conclusions of the researchers at the Mayo Clinic were based on an analysis of about 3,000 patients. They said that there were signs the treatment might be working in patients who received high levels of antibodies in plasma early in the course of their illness.
According to the investigators, patients who received the antibody-rich plasma within three days of diagnosis had a mortality rate of 6.6% at seven days after the transfusion. Patients who got plasma with low levels of antibodies after three days of diagnosis on the other hand had a mortality rate about twice as high at 13.3%.
However, the WSJ report cautioned that the data hadn't been published in any journal or subjected to peer review. It also pointed out that at the webinar presentation, the investigators had stated that the conclusions were their own and didn't represent an official government endorsement of efficacy of convalescent plasma.
A spokesperson of the USFDA, the regulatory body for approving drugs and treatment for diseases, was quoted as saying the agency could not comment on the investigators' data analysis and conclusions as it was assessing all available evidence that could potentially support the use of convalescent plasma.
The study being done at the Mayo Clinic started as an expanded access programme to allow broad and quick access to convalescent plasma or antibody rich plasma from someone who recovered fRead More – Source
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