ABSTRACT
The annual meeting of the Association of Medical Laboratory Immunologists (AMLI) was convened virtually over the month of August. Prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, AMLI's scientific committee had chosen the following topics as the focus of its 2020 meeting: Histocompatibility Testing and Transplant Immunology; Secondary Immunodeficiency and Immunotherapy Monitoring; ANA Update; and Emerging Infectious Diseases and New Algorithms for Testing. Given the central role of the discipline in the evaluation of the host response to infection, it was apt to add a separate session on antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infections to the original program. The current report provides an overview of the subjects discussed in the course of this meeting.
Subject(s)
Allergy and Immunology , COVID-19/immunology , Immunotherapy/methods , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Societies, Medical , Algorithms , Animals , Group Processes , Histocompatibility Testing , Host-Pathogen Interactions , Humans , Laboratories , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2/chemistry , Transplantation Immunology , Virtual RealityABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) therapy for patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 disease. METHODS: This non-randomized prospective cohort study was conducted from May 21 to June 30, 2020, at four major tertiary hospitals in Kuwait. CCP was administered to 135 patients. The control group comprised 233 patients who received standard treatment. All patients (N = 368, median age 54 [range 15-82]) had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and either moderate or severe COVID-19 disease. RESULTS: CCP treatment was associated with a higher rate of clinical improvement in patients with moderate or severe disease. Among those with moderate COVID-19 disease, time to clinical improvement was 7 days in the CCP group, versus 8 days in the control group (p = 0·006). For severe COVID-19 disease, time to clinical improvement was 7 days in the CCP group, versus 15.5 days in the control group (p = 0·003). In the adjusted analysis, patients with moderate disease treated with CCP had a significantly lower 30-day mortality rate. Compared to the control group, oxygen saturation improved within 3 days of CCP transfusion, and lymphocyte counts improved from day 7 in patients with moderate COVID-19 disease and day 11 in patients with severe disease. C-reactive protein levels declined throughout the first 14 days after CCP transfusion. None of the CCP patients developed a serious transfusion reaction. CONCLUSIONS: The data show that administration of CCP is a safe treatment option for patients with COVID-19 disease with a favorable outcome in the rate of, and time to, clinical improvement.