Early Administration of Convalescent Plasma Improves Survival in Patients with Hematological Malignancies and COVID-19
Monika Maria Biernat,
Anna Kolasińska,
Jacek Kwiatkowski,
Donata Urbaniak-Kujda,
Paweł Biernat,
Justyna Janocha-Litwin,
Małgorzata Szymczyk-Nużka,
Dawid Bursy,
Elżbieta Kalicińska,
Krzysztof Simon,
Grzegorz Mazur,
Tomasz Wróbel
Affiliations
Monika Maria Biernat
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Anna Kolasińska
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Jacek Kwiatkowski
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Donata Urbaniak-Kujda
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Paweł Biernat
Department of Drugs Form Technology, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska Street 211A, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Justyna Janocha-Litwin
Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Koszarowa Street 5, 51-149 Wroclaw, Poland
Małgorzata Szymczyk-Nużka
Regional Centre of Transfusion Medicine and Blood Bank (RCTMBB-W), Czerwonego Krzyża Street 5/9, 50-345 Wroclaw, Poland
Dawid Bursy
Department of Drugs Form Technology, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska Street 211A, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Elżbieta Kalicińska
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Krzysztof Simon
Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Koszarowa Street 5, 51-149 Wroclaw, Poland
Grzegorz Mazur
Department and Clinic of Internal and Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska Street 213, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Tomasz Wróbel
Department and Clinic of Haematology, Blood Neoplasms, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura Street 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
The use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19 may lead to a milder course of infection and has been associated with improved outcomes. Determining optimal treatments in high risk populations is crucial, as is the case in those with hematological malignancies. We analyzed a cohort of 23 patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19 who had received plasma 48–72 h after the diagnosis of infection and compared it with a historical group of 22 patients who received other therapy. Overall survival in those who received convalescent plasma was significantly higher than in the historical group (p = 0.03460). The plasma–treated group also showed a significantly milder course of infection (p = 0.03807), characterized by less severe symptoms and faster recovery (p = 0.00001). In conclusion, we have demonstrated that convalescent plasma is an effective treatment and its early administration leads to clinical improvement, increased viral clearance and longer overall survival in patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19. To our knowledge, this is the first report to analyze the efficacy of convalescent plasma in a cohort of patients with hematological malignancies.
