Convalescent Plasma Therapy Significantly improves the Clotting Kinetics of COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Convalescent plasma therapy is approved as an effective therapy for severe or critical cases of COVID-19. However, there is concern regarding the impact of procoagulant factors in convalescent plasma. This study aims to prove the effect of convalescent plasma therapy on the coagulation status, especially the thromboelastography, of COVID-19 patients at Dr. Saiful Anwar Malang Hospital. This study used a survey method with a cross-sectional design between the group given convalescent plasma and the control group. Data taken from medical records. The independent variable is the convalescent plasma, while the dependent variable is the thromboelastography indicator (TEG); namely R time, K time, MA, and LY30. This study also compares the correlation between convalescent plasma therapy and patients’ comorbidities including hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and renal disease. Among 305 COVID-19 patients involved in this study, only 142 patients have completed medical record data for thromboelastography evaluation. Patient characteristics analysis shows a certain tendency in patients with comorbidities to receive convalescent plasma therapy. Although many indicators of thromboelastography did not have a significant correlation with convalescent plasma therapy, such as its R time and LY30, finally this study shows K time (which represents clotting kinetics) as the most significant indicator affected by convalescent plasma therapy.