The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday recommended that the blood plasma of patients treated with COVID-19 not be used to treat patients with the disease caused by the new coronavirus, explaining that current data show that practice neither increases the chances of survival nor reduces the need for intubation.
The hypothesis of using blood plasma is that the antibodies it contains can neutralize SARS-CoV-2, stopping it from reproducing and reducing tissue damage.
However, several studies on the use of blood plasma by recovering patients have shown no significant benefit in treating people with severe COVID-19. A clinical trial in the United States was suspended in March after it was found that plasma did not even help treat patients with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease.
Moreover, this method is expensive and time consuming, the WHO added in a press release issued yesterday.
An international panel of experts has come up with a strong recommendation against the use of blood plasma by patients, explained the Organization, part of the UN system. The recommendation applies to all cases, with the exception of randomized, controlled trials.
The recommendation, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) review, is based on data from 16 trials in 16,236 patients with mild, severe and very severe COVID-19.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
.
