The use of therapeutic plasma exchange as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019: A critical appraisal of the current evidence

J Clin Apher. 2021 Jun;36(3):483-491. doi: 10.1002/jca.21883. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a major pandemic. While vaccine development moves forward, optimal treatment continues to be explored. Efforts include an ever-expanding number of clinical trials along with newly proposed experimental and off-label investigational therapies; one of which is therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). There have been a number of publications on TPE use as adjunctive therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but no prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been completed. This article critically appraises the current available evidence on TPE as a treatment modality for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; plasma exchange.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / therapy*
  • COVID-19 Serotherapy
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Hemadsorption
  • Humans
  • Immunization, Passive / methods
  • Inflammation
  • Plasma Exchange
  • Plasmapheresis
  • Research Design
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Cytokines