Clinical outcomes for COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus treated with convalescent plasma transfusion in Wuhan, China.

Dai, Wei; Wu, Jian; Li, Tianfu; Shen, Jiawei; Pang, Rongrong; Luo, Tao; Guo, Yanju; Yang, Yang; Zhao, Jun; Zhang, Mingchao; Li, Na; Han, Ying; Wu, Qiuyue; Li, Weiwei; Xia, Xinyi

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is wreaking havoc on public-health systems worldwide. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is well defined, but efficacious treatment is lacking. There is a big gap in knowledge regarding COVID-19 patients receiving convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT), especially those also suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study, among 3,059 COVID-19 patients admitted to Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital of China, we documented the characteristics of 39 COVID-19 patients with DM receiving CPT, and compared their baseline information and clinical outcomes to COVID-19 patients with DM receiving conventional treatment. We also performed the propensity-matched comparison of COVID-19 patients with DM between conventional treatment and CPT. The CPT was efficacious and beneficial for COVID-19 patients with DM, including severe or critical ill patients, without obvious adverse effects. Our data demonstrated that CPT significantly improved the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients with DM, especially the cure rate and duration of hospitalization compared with that in COVID-19 patients with DM receiving conventional treatment. This study not only provided a deeper understanding of characteristics in COVID-19 patients with DM receiving CPT, but also highlighted the efficacious of CPT for COVID-19 patients with DM. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.