Background
COVID 19 infection caused by novel coronavirus with no specific established treatment. Convalescent Plasma Therapy has been authorized as an off-label therapeutic procedure. We assessed the outcome of convalescent plasma (CP) units versus standard treatment on the complete recovery, improvement and 28 days’ mortality of COVID 19 patients.
Materials and methods
The present was multi-centric case controlled observational prospective study. The study was conducted for a period of four and half months from July 15 2020 to 30 November 2020 after taking approval from the Expert Committee, Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha. Plasma therapy was applied on two groups of 1189 serious COVID patients (959 number of pre- critical and 230 number of critical patients) not responding to oxygen therapy. It was compared with non- transfused control group of 1243 patients (996 number of pre-critical and 247 number of critical patients).
Results
Discharge was better in (55.5%) transfused than (43%)in non-transfused pre-critical patients and the mortality was lower (44.3%) in transfused, (48.9%) than non-transfused critical patients respectively. Complete recovery was highest in those who were transfused with CP with neutralizing titer more than 1:160 (52.5%), 18–30 years’ age group (64%), females (53%), ‘O’ Rh D positive blood group (51.5%). There was no adverse reaction due to CP transfusion.
Conclusions
CP is effective in improving the recovery rate with earlier discharge and decrease in the 28 days’ mortality than in the control non-transfused group. CP with neutralizing antibody titer more than 1:160 has the best outcome with complete recovery and decrease in the mortality. It is more effective in treating pre-critical patients when transfused early, in female patients, in younger age group and in blood group ‘O’ Rh D positive.
Cryptococcosis is a life threatening, opportunistic fungal disease in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individual. Lymph node involvement as a presenting feature in Cryptococcosis is not a common manifestation. A prompt diagnosis is of utmost importance in this disseminated form of cryptococcosis. There are very few reports, however, of cryptococcal lymphadenitis as a presenting feature. We report here a case of cryptococcal lymphadenitis that was diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology of the involved cervical lymph node.
Cavernous haemangioma of the uterine cervix is extremely rare. Fewer than 50 have been reported cases to date. A nulliparous term woman presented with a sensation of "something coming out" of her introitus. The mass was found to be large, 8 cm in diameter, and arising from the uterine cervix. It was clinically diagnosed as a cervical fibroid. The mass was surgically resected and was sent for histopathological study. Grossly, it was a wellcircumscribed, greyish-brown mass, measuring 6 x 7 x 8 cm. From the biopsy, the diagnosis that was made was cervical cavernous haemangioma. The patient later delivered a child by Caesarean section. Although cavernous haemangioma of the uterine cervix in pregnancy is a rare entity, it should be kept in mind as a differential diagnosis by clinicians.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.