• YunSuk Cho, YuJin Sohn, JongHoon Hyun, YaeJee Baek, MooHyun Kim, JungHo Kim, JinYoung Ahn, SuJin Jeong, NamSu Ku, Joon Sup Yeom, MiYoung Ahn, DongHyun Oh, JaePhil Choi, SinYoung Kim, KyoungHwa Lee, YoungGoo Song, and JunYong Choi.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• Yonsei Med. J. 2021 Sep 1; 62 (9): 799805799-805.

PurposeCoronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a novel respiratory infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); there are few specific treatments. Convalescent plasma (CP), donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19, is an investigational therapy for severe or critically ill patients with COVID-19.Materials And MethodsThis retrospective cohort study evaluated the effectiveness of CP therapy in patients with severe or life-threatening cases of COVID-19 at two hospitals in Seoul, Korea, between May and September 2020. Clinical outcomes were evaluated in 20 patients with CP therapy in a descriptive manner. Additionally, the changes in cycle threshold (Ct) values of 10 patients with CP therapy were compared to those of 10 controls who had the same (±0.8) initial Ct values but did not receive CP.ResultsOf the 20 patients (mean age 66.6 years), 18 received high-dose oxygen therapy using mechanical ventilators or high-flow nasal cannulas. Systemic steroids were administered to 19 patients who received CP. The neutralizing antibody titers of the administered CP were between 1:80 and 1:10240. There were two ABO-mismatched transfusions. The World Health Organization ordinal scale score and National Institutes of Health severity score improved in half of the patients within 14 days. Those who received CP showed a higher increase in Ct values at 24 h and 72 h after CP therapy compared to controls with similar initial Ct values (p=0.002). No transfusion-related side effects were observed.ConclusionCP therapy may be a potential therapeutic option in severe or critically ill patients with COVID-19.© Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2021.

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