The Early Outpatient COVID-19 Plasma Treatment Research Study (CSSC-004) had its final results published in The New England Journal of Medicine on March 30th, 2022. The study was led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with support and coordination from BIOS. The primary outcome data show that plasma from patients whose blood contains antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 is a safe and effective early outpatient treatment for COVID-19.
The study shows that treatment with antibody-rich COVID convalescent plasma reduced the need for hospitalization in over half of the study’s largely unvaccinated outpatients. During the trial, 1,181 participants were given either a dose of antibody-rich plasma or a placebo plasma that had no COVID antibodies. All participants were treated within 9 days of testing positive for COVID. Primary Investigator David Sullivan, MD, said, “[We] found that if convalescent plasma is given within five days after diagnosis, the effectiveness at reducing hospitalization approximated 80%.”
The researchers want to make convalescent plasma for outpatient treatment more efficiently administered, easier to use, and easier to access. They have written a guide for clinicians that includes information on recommended logistics, staffing, and blood banking requirements to help clinicians implement a plasma transfusion center for outpatients. Moving forward, the researchers are interested in discovering how convalescent plasma can further help outpatients with COVID-19.