SPECIAL ARTICLE   Free access

Minerva Medica 2020 August;111(4):362-4

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4806.20.06616-1

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Hyper-immune/convalescent plasma: an old option and a valid strategy for treatment of COVID-19?

Daniele SAVERINO ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; ² San Martino Hospital, Genoa, Italy

Currently, there are no approved specific antiviral agents for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Hyper-immune/convalescent plasma derived from recently recovered donors seems to be useful to treat COVID-19 patients, an addition to maximal supportive care and antiviral agents. The endpoints are the improvement of clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters of these patients. However, the efficacy of hyper-immune/convalescent plasma treatment for severe infectious diseases is still controversial. The optimal dose and time point, as well as the clinical benefit of hyper-immune/convalescent plasma therapy, needs further investigation in larger well-controlled trials.

KEY WORDS: COVID-19 serotherapy; COVID-19; Therapeutics