• Livius Tirnea, Felix Bratosin, Iulia Vidican, Bianca Cerbu, Mirela Turaiche, Madalina Timircan, Madalin-Marius Margan, and Iosif Marincu.
• Department of Infectious Diseases, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 Mar 11; 57 (3).

AbstractBackground and Objectives: On 24 March 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of convalescent plasma therapy for critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as an emergency investigational new drug. This pilot study from Romania aimed to determine if convalescent plasma transfusion can be beneficial in the treatment of selected critically ill patients diagnosed with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: Donor and receiver eligibility for critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients was based on Romanian guidelines issued at the time of the study. Here, we describe the evolution of a total of five eligible patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received convalescent plasma (CP) in Romania. Results: In spite of our efforts and convalescent plasma administration, three of the five patients did not survive, while the other two recovered completely. Over the course of our five-day laboratory record, the surviving patients had significantly lower values for C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and white blood cells. Conclusions: This pilot study provides insufficient evidence to determine the efficacy of convalescent plasma use as a therapeutic option for critically ill COVID-19 patients.

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