BENGALURU: The Centre’s move to drop convalescent plasma therapy from the list of treatment procedures for the management of Covid- 19, has evoked mixed views among experts in Karnataka. While some vouch for plasma therapy and say it should be continued, others approve of the decision to drop it. In April last year, Karnataka initiated plasma trials at Victoria Hospital and some of the recovered Covid-19 patients had come forward to donate plasma.
Many hospitals had included plasma therapy in their treatment protocols. Dr U S Vishal Rao, regional director of head and neck surgical oncology at HCG hospitals, who initiated plasma therapy in the state, revealed that recently, a systematic review and meta analysis on the effect of plasma therapy on mortality among Covid-19 patients was published by Mayo Clinic, a non-profit American academic medical centre. The analysis was that plasma therapy helped reduce the mortality rate as compared to patients receiving standard treatment.
He also pointed out that the US FDA had included plasma therapy. Dr Rao said, “There are studies which have showcased the benefits of plasma therapy. When we have given plasma from a donor with high antibody titers at an early stage, the patient has survived. For offlabel use on compassionate grounds, physicians in India will soon run out of options if we are to start prohibiting the use of the very limited therapeutic options we have in addition to Corticosteroids, because anecdotally, several clinicians will attest to the fact that convalescent plasma saves lives if given to the right patients at the right time, which is the same argument that holds ground for other off-label therapeutic agents in Covid-19.”
However, the PLACID trials conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), released in September last year, found that the therapy did not prevent progression to severe disease or reduce the number of deaths at 28-days of enrolment of the patient. Dr Anoop Amarnath, Member of state’s Critical Care Support Team, said, “I do agree with the Centre’s call, as there is not much data to support the trials and there is no evidence to show benefits.”
Dr Pruthu Narendra Dhekane, Consultant-Infectious Diseases, Fortis Hospitals Bannerghatta Road, said, “Plasma therapy is an experimental one for Covid-19 and, so far, whatever data is available on it, does not show benefits as regards overall mortality. So, to restrict its inappropriate use, it is rational to put an official hold on it unless some new data emerges suggesting otherwise.”