THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Whether the convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) works or not is yet to be established for certain. But the therapy has so far been a successful intervention for Kerala as it has helped many critically ill Covid-19 patients recover. For some, CPT was lifesaving.
However, the state health authorities now fear the latest study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) -- saying CPT didn't help reduce Covid deaths -- could water down its plan to use the therapy to improve the recovery rate and reduce mortality.
"CPT is not an approved medication for Covid-19 treatment. The world over, studies regarding CPT have been limited. But, in general, it showed good results. In Kerala, more than 100 patients were provided with CPT and the outcomes were very good," a member of the state medical board for Covid-19 told The New Indian Express.
The government promoted it heavily and even took the initiative in establishing the state's first plasma bank at the Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri, Malappuram, to meet the rising demand.
The state has been administering CPT from June on critical COVID patients when all other options have failed.
The medical board member added that the ICMR study might have been flawed as even a minute error in donor selection and calculation of antibody titer (a test that detects and measures the amount of antibodies in a person's blood) could affect the outcome.
The inference of ICMR -- the apex body for biomedical research in the country -- regarding CPT had come in the light of the PLACID trial, a randomised control trial to assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma to limit Covid-19 associated complications.
Though Kerala was the first to approach ICMR to join the trial, no institution from the state received approval to participate.
Meanwhile, Dr Debasish Gupta, head of the department of transfusion medicine at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, said CPT could only be considered a success if it is used in isolation to treat and help recover a patient.
"If we use CPT along with medications like corticosteroids and the patient recovers, the success can't be bestowed only on CPT," he said.
Kerala's success so far is learnt to have come when CPT was administered alongside medications.
Bhopal-based global health researcher Dr Anant Bhan said the ICMR study may have its own limitations as it is yet to be peer-reviewed.
"It could be examined by the expert committee of doctors at the local level. In the light of the study, a state could either stop CPT or suspend it temporarily till the ICMR comes out with a clear-cut advisory for its administration," he said