Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of convalescent plasma (CP) therapy for patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation (MV) and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Background: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues to spread globally without availability of an effective treatment. In search for the cure, convalescent plasma containing protective antibodies from survivors of COVID-19 infection has shown potential benefit in non-ICU setting. Methods: An open label trial performed in a single center, The Royal Hospital, in Oman. The study was conducted from April 14, 2020, to June 17, 2020. The trial included 94 participants with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. The primary outcomes included extubation rates/ discharges from the hospital and overall mortality, while secondary outcomes were length of stay (LOS) and improvement in respiratory and laboratory parameters. Analyses were performed using univariate statistics. Results: The overall mean age of the cohort was 5015 years and 90% (n=85) were males. A total of 78% (n=73) of the patients received CP. Those on CP were associated with higher extubation rate (42% vs 33%; p < 0.001), higher extubation/home discharges rate (64% vs 24%; p = 0.001) and tendency towards lower overall mortality (19% vs 29%; p = 0.354; study power = 11%) when compared to COVID-19 patients that did not receive CP. Conclusions: CP was associated with higher extubation/home discharges and tendency towards lower overall mortality when compared to those that did not receive CP in COVID-19 patients on MV or in those with ARDS. Further studies are warranted to corroborate our findings.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of convalescent plasma (CP) therapy for patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation (MV) and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Background: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues to spread globally without availability of an e...