Effect of Convalescent Plasma on Mortality among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: Initial Three-Month Experience
Authors: Joyner Michael J. , Senefeld Jonathon W. , Klassen Stephen A. , Mills John R. , Johnson Patrick W. , Theel Elitza S. , Wiggins Chad C. , Bruno Katelyn A. , Klompas Allan M. , Lesser Elizabeth R. , Kunze Katie L. , Sexton Matthew A. , Diaz Soto Juan C. , Baker Sarah E. , Shepherd John R.A. , van Helmond Noud , Paneth Nigel S. , Fairweather DeLisa , Wright R. Scott , Carter Rickey E. , Casadevall Arturo ,   the US EAP COVID-19 Plasma Consortium
Published: August 2020

Importance

Passive antibody transfer is a longstanding treatment strategy for infectious diseases that involve the respiratory system. In this context, human convalescent plasma has been used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the efficacy remains uncertain.

Objective

To explore potential signals of efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

Design

Open-label, Expanded Access Program (EAP) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with human convalescent plasma.

Setting

Multicenter, including 2,807 acute care facilities in the US and territories.

Participants

Adult participants enrolled and transfused under the purview of the US Convalescent Plasma EAP program between April 4 and July 4, 2020 who were hospitalized with (or at risk of) severe or life threatening acute COVID-19 respiratory syndrome.

Intervention

Transfusion of at least one unit of human COVID-19 convalescent plasma using standard transfusion guidelines at any time during hospitalization. Convalescent plasma was donated by recently-recovered COVID-19 survivors, and the antibody levels in the units collected were unknown at the time of transfusion.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Seven and thirty-day mortality.

Results

The 35,322 transfused patients had heterogeneous demographic and clinical characteristics. This cohort included a high proportion of critically-ill patients, with 52.3% in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 27.5% receiving mechanical ventilation at the time of plasma transfusion. The seven-day mortality rate was 8.7% [95% CI 8.3%-9.2%] in patients transfused within 3 days of COVID-19 diagnosis but 11.9% [11.4%-12.2%] in patients transfused 4 or more days after diagnosis (p<0.001). Similar findings were observed in 30-day mortality (21.6% vs. 26.7%, p<0.0001). Importantly, a gradient of mortality was seen in relation to IgG antibody levels in the transfused plasma. For patients who received high IgG plasma (>18.45 S/Co), seven-day mortality was 8.9% (6.8%, 11.7%); for recipients of medium IgG plasma (4.62 to 18.45 S/Co) mortality was 11.6% (10.3%, 13.1%); and for recipients of low IgG plasma (<4.62 S/Co) mortality was 13.7% (11.1%, 16.8%) (p=0.048). This unadjusted dose-response relationship with IgG was also observed in thirty-day mortality (p=0.021). The pooled relative risk of mortality among patients transfused with high antibody level plasma units was 0.65 [0.47-0.92] for 7 days and 0.77 [0.63-0.94] for 30 days compared to low antibody level plasma units.

Conclusions and Relevance

The relationships between reduced mortality and both earlier time to transfusion and higher antibody levels provide signatures of efficacy for convalescent plasma in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This information may be informative for the treatment of COVID-19 and design of randomized clinical trials involving convalescent plasma.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04338360

Key Points

Question

Does transfusion of human convalescent plasma reduce mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients?

Findings

Transfusion of convalescent plasma with higher antibody levels to hospitalized COVID-19 patients significantly reduced mortality compared to transfusions with low antibody levels. Transfusions within three days of COVID-19 diagnosis yielded greater reductions in mortality.

Meaning

Embedded in an Expanded Access Program providing access to COVID-19 convalescent plasma and designed to assess its safety, several signals consistent with efficacy of convalescent plasma in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients emerged.