Ang mga pasyente na nakatanggap ng blood plasma mula sa mga survivors ay nagsimula ng magpakita ng magandang improvement sa kanilang kondisyon, ayon sa hematologist sa St Luke’s Medical Center nitong Miyerkules.
Ayon sa ulat ni Sandra Aguinaldo’sa “24 Oras”:
Seven patients in critical condition at the hospital have been given the treatment.
“Slowly, we are seeing improvement in their chest x-ray and also ‘yung mga oxygenation requirement bumababa na rin,” Hematologist Dr. Francisco Lopez said.
“Ang ‘yung mga biomarkers ng inflammation nakikita rin ho natin na bumababa rin,” he added.
“Kung nasa ventilator sila, sa machine, dahan-dahan ‘yung requirement ng oxygen na bumababa,” Lopez said.
Lopez, however, said the treatment needed further study despite the improvement seen in the condition of the patients.
“We don’t want to create a hype. We want more evidence,” Lopez said.
Under the convalescent plasma treatment, COVID-19 patients will receive a transfusion of plasma from COVID-19 survivors.
Blood plasma from survivors is believed to contain anti-bodies against the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the sickness.
In Wuhan, China, where the pandemic is believed to have started, 10 severe COVID-19 cases were given the convalescent plasma treatment.
Some of the patients tested were already on ventilators due to difficulty in breathing.
After the transfusion, doctors observed a reduced inflammation and an increase in lymphocytes, which may fight infection, in 12 to 24 hours.
A study showed that in one to three days after the transfusion, the conditions of patients improved while the symptoms of some had disappeared completely.
“After treatment with CP, two patients were weaned from mechanical ventilation to high-flow nasal cannula, and one patient discontinued high-flow nasal cannula,” the study read.
The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) was the first in the country to attempt the treatment, having already given three of its patients the treatment so far.