Convalescent Plasma and Hyperimmune Globulin Therapy in COVID-19.

Cagdas, Deniz

INTRODUCTION Severe acute respiratory syndrome causing coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)) has recently resulted in the recent global pandemic. As convalescent plasma (CP) therapy has been used with success in several viral infections before, it has become a treatment of choice. Medical literature is reviewed for the randomized controlled studies using convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19. AREAS COVERED More than one type of neutralizing antibody against a specific microorganism may be found in both CP and hyperimmune globulins. To give a standard titer of a specific neutralizing antibody to a patient, a reliable antibody titration assay should be developed. It is challenging to test the efficacy of the CP and HIG therapies with double-blind studies. There is a difficulty in the standardization of the CP and HIG study groups, as patients use various additional therapies. Different amounts and titer of CP and HIG and different titer of CP are used in patients. This review discusses the current knowledge on the CP and HIG therapies used in patients suffering from COVID-19 disease. EXPERT OPINION The mechanisms of the cellular and humoral antiviral immune response to COVID-19 seem to have diverse characteristics. The antibody produced after COVID-19 disease and vaccination is short-lived. Thus, CP should be an alternative especially in patients with lymphopenia and primary/secondary antibody deficiency. KEY WORDS Convalescent Plasma; hyperimmune globulin; efficacy; adverse effects; application; use; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; antibody; autoantibody.