WHO Advises Against Use of Convalescent Plasma or Covid-19
Daily Rendezvous WHO advises against use of convalescent plasma or covid-19 Current evidence shows no improvement in survival and other important measures Convalescent plasma (a transfusion of blood plasma from someone who has recovered from covid-19) is not recommended for patients with covid-19, says a WHO Guideline Development Group of international experts in The BMJ today. Despite its initial promise, current evidence shows that it does not improve survival nor reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, and it is costly and time-consuming to administer. As such, the WHO makes a strong recommendation against the use of convalescent plasma in patients with non-severe illness, and a recommendation against its use in patients with severe and critical illness, except in the context of a randomised controlled trial (RCT). The recommendations are based on evidence from 16 trials involving 16,236 patients with non-severe, severe, and critical covid-19 infect...