Since Dec. 2019 the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions and claimed life of several hundred thousand worldwide. However, so far no approved vaccine or drug therapy is available for treatment of virus infection. Convalescent plasma has been considered a potential modality for COVID-19 infection. One hundred eighty-nine COVID-19 positive patients including 115 patients in plasma therapy group and 74 patients in control group, registered in the hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 infection, entered this multi-center clinical study. Comparison of outcomes including all-cause mortality, total hospitalization days and patients’ need for intubation between the two patient groups shows that total of 98 (98.2 %) of patients who received convalescent plasma were discharged from hospital which is substantially higher compared to 56 (78.7 %) patients in control group. Length of hospitalization days was significantly lower (9.54 days) in convalescent plasma group compared with that of control group (12.88 days). Only 8 patients (7%) in convalescent plasma group required intubation while that was 20 % in control group. This clinical study provides strong evidence to support the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients and recommends this treatment for management of these patients. Clinical efficacy, immediate availability and potential cost effectiveness could be considered as main advantages of convalescent plasma therapy.
Objective: The current study compared the clinical, laboratory and radiological findings between groups of smokers and non- smokers Iranian patients with COVID-19. Methods: This was a case-control study done on 120 patients with COVID-19 that were admitted to Baqiyatallah hospital, Tehran, Iran during March to May 2020. Our patients were categorized into two groups: smokers (40 patients) and non-smokers (80 age and sex matched controls). Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, imaging manifestations, and outcomes were compared between two age groups. Results: Regarding the comorbidities, no significant difference was observed between the smoker and non-smoker patients. The distribution of COVID-19 symptoms was not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers, except for chest pain and weakness, which were significantly more common in smokers with COVID-19. A significantly lower white blood cell count and neutrophils in peripheral blood sample of smokers however, no difference was found concerning lymphocyte count. Moreover, the RDW of smokers was significantly lower. Regarding the findings on CT scan of COVID-19 patients, no significant difference was found between smoker and non-smoker COVID-19 patients. One (2.5%) of deaths occurred in the smoker and 3 (3.8%) occurred in the non- smoker groups.Conclusion: Current findings showed that the clinical picture of smoker and non-smoker COVID-19 patients does not differ significantly.
We present a critically ill patient affected by COVID-19, whose chest computed tomography (CT) scan featured lung consolidations and severe patchy ground-glass opacitie. On day 3 since hospital admission the patient was placed on convalescent plasma treatment. A combined treatment with supportive care, hemoperfusion and convalescent plasma successfully managed to save the patient's life. Convalescent plasma probably contributed to heal this patient and should always be considered in the management of critically ill COVID-19 cases.
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