A trial was carried out in 464 moderately ill patients by the higher medical body. (Figurative)
New Delhi:
The Medical Research Council of India, in a study, said that plasma therapy for COVID-19 does not reduce the risk of death or slow the progression of the disease from a mild stage to a severe one.
In plasma therapy, antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from the coronavirus are taken and transfused into a coronavirus-infected patient to boost the immune system and fight the infection.
An Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) trial was conducted in 464 moderately ill patients with breathing difficulties and an oxygen saturation level of less than 93%. They were divided into two groups: 235 received plasma, while 229 received only standard care. Those in the intervention group (235 patients) were transfused with two 200 ml doses of plasma 24 hours apart. The intervention and control groups were compared after 28 days.
A total of 34 patients or 13.6 percent of those who received the plasma therapy could not recover and died, the leading medical body said, while 31 patients or 14.6 percent of those who did not receive plasma died. . The study said that 17 patients in each group progressed to severe illness.
However, plasma therapy had minor benefits in reducing symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue and had no effect on other symptoms such as fever and cough.
Several states such as Delhi, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu are conducting plasma therapy to address the coronavirus outbreak. In Delhi, plasma therapy has been administered to more than 700 patients and has been widely promoted by the Delhi government.
Government officials did not respond to a request for comment on the study.
Meanwhile, doctors and experts said they have witnessed the benefits of plasma therapy in treating coronavirus patients.
Dr SK Sarin, Director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, which conducted the first plasma therapy trial in Delhi and also has a plasma bank, said: “The study conducted by ICMR does not mean that all doors are now closed for plasma therapy. The study also says there are certain benefits and no adverse effects. ICMR’s own study says it helped with symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue. “
He said that in the US, 65,000 people have received plasma therapy and it is still going on. “If a nation as advanced as the United States is administering plasma therapy to such a large number of people, then surely there is a benefit somewhere. The trial conducted by the FDA in the US has shown that plasma therapy plasma reduces mortality by up to 35 percent. “
The Medical Director and Principal Investigator for Plasma Therapy at LNJP Delhi Hospital, Dr. Suresh Kumar, said: “We cannot question the ICMR trial. But we administered it to 114 patients. We only administered it to those who had a oxygen saturation level below 93 percent and oxygen levels improved from 85 to 95 percent. In others, the fever decreased and in some cases the respiratory rate normalized. “
The LNJP hospital is the Delhi government’s largest dedicated COVID-19 facility and so far, more than 3,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus and been discharged from the hospital.
The medical director of the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital for Superspecialities, Dr. BL Sherwal, said: “We are carrying it out on 88 patients and the study is still ongoing. It has no adverse effects and that is very important. Even the ICMR does not say that therapy has effects. So even if there are minor benefits, we can explore it and see how it can play a role in relieving patients. “
Last month, the World Health Organization was cautious in endorsing the use of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to treat the sick, saying that the evidence that it works remains “low quality.”
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