The Use of Ebola Convalescent Plasma to Treat Ebola Virus Disease in Resource-Constrained Settings: A Perspective From the Field

van Griensven, Johan; De Weiggheleire, Anja; Delamou, Alexandre; Smith, Peter G.; Edwards, Tansy; Vandekerckhove, Philippe; Bah, Elhadj Ibrahima; Colebunders, Robert; Herve, Isola; Lazaygues, Catherine; Haba, Nyankoye; Lynen, Lutgarde

An overview of clinical trials is provided in Table 1 . The Ebola-Tx trial, in Conakry, Guinea, is designed to assess the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of CP against EVD [27] . Survival at 14 days after transfusion of patients treated with CP plus supportive care will be compared to that of patients receiving supportive care alone, in an open-label phase 2/3, nonrandomized comparative study. All eligible and consenting patients of any age with confirmed EVD (including pregnant women) are enrolled; exclusion criteria are limited to contraindications for CP or patients arriving in a close to terminal condition. Available ABO compatible plasma is given, within 48 hours after diagnosis, on a firstcome, first-served basis. Patients for whom there is no available compatible plasma are enrolled as concurrent controls, complemented with historical controls. The first plasma collection started on 9 February 2015, followed by the first CP administration on 19 February 2015. As of 7 July 2015, 102 patients have been recruited. The main analysis is planned when a cohort of 130 CPtreated patients have reached day 14 posttransfusion. Due to the fluctuating number of new patients and the decline of the outbreak in Guinea, it is difficult to estimate when this will happen.