Systematic Literature Review: Could Plasma Convalescent Prevent Death on COVID-19?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health problem, and the lack of effective and efficient treatment standards is one of the causes of the high morbidity and mortality rates. One approach often used in various cases of COVID-19 is convalescent plasma therapy. The administration of convalescent plasma is one of the treatment options that are often used in cases of COVID-19 with mild, moderate, severe, chronic, and critical symptoms. The article review aims to analyze how convalescent plasma transfusion in various cases of COVID-19 can prevent death and improve clinical outcomes. The PRISMA flowchart is applied to filter the literature that meets the inclusion criteria: published articles with experimental or observational research discussing the use of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 patients; published January 2020 - March 2021. We conducted article searches through PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. Assessment of the quality of the articles using the EPHPP form, and we chose ten articles. The results of the qualitative analysis prove that convalescent plasma administration in various COVID-19 cases significantly reduces viral load, clinical improvement and prevents death in mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19s, but for terminal or critical cases, it does not show significant results. The success rate of convalescent plasma therapy is determined by the high antibody titer in plasma donors, the distance between its administration and the onset of symptoms, and the patient's baseline condition before plasma administration. Based on these results, further research is needed to determine the standard dose and method of administration of convalescent plasma referring to the varied baseline conditions of patients.