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“In intensive care there is a 28-year-old boy named Francesco. He was in a Covid apartment on Thursday, the situation worsened on Friday. We asked the Ethics Committee to use plasma, they gave us their consent. And ….” Giuseppe De Donno, 53, takes a short break. He is the director of Pneumology and the Intensive Respiratory Therapy Unit of the Carlo Poma hospital in Mantua. Emotion held at bay in these coronavirus months occasionally prevails. And he is moved.
How is Francesco?
“After 24 hours I was ready and I was fine, today (yesterday, ed) we wean him from the fan. He is a child who came here without other pathologies than Covid, he had to be intubated and in two days we can return him to his parents. It’s so good that he sent me a prank message on his mobile just now.
What did he write to her?
“He wrote:” Where’s my superhero? “Pranking is fine, but for heaven’s sake, there are no heroes or superheroes. I’m just a doctor.”
But also one of the doctors who is experimenting with the only antivirus cure that seems to work. True?
Right. Here in Mantua, together with the San Matteo hospital in Pavia, we have just closed the first trial that started in early April in a group of critically ill patients. Francesco arrived out of time but we enrolled him anyway. One hundred patients in Total treated with hyperimmune plasma, that is, it comes from the blood of patients who have been infected and have recovered.
Outcome?
The cure works. Throughout this month we have had no deaths among those treated. Only patients who have improved until recovery or have stabilized. No one got worse. It is no longer anecdotal: we have testimonies and clinical courses from many patients. We have sent everything to the scientific community, we are waiting for its publication. But I would like to clarify one thing ».
Please?
We cannot feed false hopes. Let me explain: if the disease has worked long enough to compromise the functionality of the organs, there is no plasma to retain. In that case, mortality remains high because the virus is no longer there and therefore the virus is no longer the enemy but the damage caused by the virus. That is why very serious patients cannot enroll in our research protocol. ”
Who developed the protocol?
“It was conceived by Cesare Perotti and Massimo Franchini, directors of Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine in Pavia and Mantua.”
How did the idea of using plasma come about?
“It was one day in late February, it was born out of a reasoning that Dr. Salvatore Casari and I were running infectious diseases here in Mantua.”
Is it true that the effects of plasma treatment can be seen in a few hours?
“Let’s say that the perception comes from the patients themselves, it is they who tell us that the improvement is immediate; the fever disappears, in some cases the cough disappears instantly, the respiratory parameters work. They tell us that they have the feeling of immediately acquiring a little strength and well-being. ”
Is someone replicating your study?
“Ours was the first in the world and now many follow the same path, both in Italy and abroad. A senior UN official who plays an important role in the health of the United States called me on Saturday. They will also use Our protocol, they congratulated us. It was exciting, I couldn’t contain my tears. ”
Are you calling from Italy?
«We tried to contact the Ministry of Health, but it was useless. There is no sign even of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. For now they are in the window ».
Are there donors?
“I bet. So many that we are creating a small plasma bank to help the nearby hospitals and buses that are being organized from Emilia and Liguria. And then I also think there will be a second test.”
What is in the future of your treatment?
“I sincerely hope for the creation of a plasma research center in Mantua. Now that I think about it: Saturday I got the green light from the mayor, right after the call from the United States, just when my 20-year-old daughter won a music contest and the same day that Francesco was fine. It would take a May 2 a week »
May 4, 2020 (change May 4, 2020 | 08:28)
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