TRALI and its associated risks to COVID-19 patients administered with Convalescent Plasma Therapy: A Review

Dr Sharique Ahmad; Tanish Baqar

Volume : IX, Issue : VIII, August - 2020

TRALI and its associated risks to COVID-19 patients administered with Convalescent Plasma Therapy: A Review

Dr Sharique Ahmad, Tanish Baqar

Abstract :

As the months progress, the world still seems lacking behind the definitive treatment or vaccine options against COVID-19. The numbers of patients suffering from active COVID-19 infections are rising drastically across the world, scientists are close to deciding on some promising drug, vaccine candidates and clinical trials are on at multiple centers to test the safety and efficacy of these options. Amongst the many scientific approaches following up the term that seem to have entered common parlance with COVID-19 is Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) a treatment which involves injecting the COVID-19 patient with convalescent sera of person who has recovered from the infection recently has been the subject of increasing attention. With researchers hoping that CPT can be given to people with severe COVID-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus, Studies are underway to evaluate the efficiency of CPT as a treatment for those with serious life threatening COVID-19. Its efficiency depends on whether the disease produced a lot of antibodies in the affected patient. The current article explains a vivid picture as to how the therapy has many hidden disadvantages and associated risks like Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), which is a fatal adverse effect of transfusion characterized by sudden acute respiratory distress. Drastic changes are seen causing complement activation which results in influx of neutrophils into the lungs and leads to the damaging of the pulmonary microvasculature with marked hypoxemia, hypotension, fever, and severe bilateral pulmonary edema. This serious pulmonary syndrome having a mortality rate of 47% should not be taken for granted, the recommendations mentioned in this article are necessary to follow so that the sample used can be tested to prevent TRALI in the affected/other COVID-19 recipients who are severely ill and can be subjected to death from TRALI rather than combating the novel COVID-19.