Alabama Hospital Begins Widespread Use of Coronavirus Plasma Treatment

Dr. Hafsa Siddiqui is treating patients with COVID-19 in Huntsville with convalescent plasma.

“In these unusual situations, we don’t have time to do randomized trials (all treatments). We have patients and somehow want to save them,” said Sidiki, a doctor at Huntsville Hospital. It was.

In state-wide hospitals, physicians rely on the FDA’s emergency license for COVID-19 treatment that has not been thoroughly scrutinized in clinical trials.

There were significant mistakes in federal emergency approvals, including the approval of hydroxychloroquine, which ultimately turned out to be harmful.

Emergency certification of plasma In August, it was suspended after Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top executive scientists issued warnings. President Trump publicly Pressed plasma processing, And the FDA has regained emergency authorization. Plasma is now widely used in COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Sidiki said it had a positive effect on the treatment of plasma patients with COVID-19.

“If we don’t wait for (patients) to progress and become seriously ill, it’s very likely to prevent them from entering a critical stage and recovering faster,” she said.

Plasma donated by COVID-19 survivors and transfused to sick patients is intended to transfer antibodies from patients who have fought the disease. This may reduce the viral load on sick people.

Convalescent plasma is relatively harmless, based on its use in the treatment of past diseases, said Dr. Michael Saag, Dean of Global Health at UAB. Early studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic have shown that it is potentially effective.

Dr. Saag believes that, for the most part, even benign treatments violate the Hippocratic Oath, without complete knowledge of how they help, or how they help.

“I don’t want to give anyone anything that has little chance of working,” he added, adding that details about how to administer plasma most effectively remain unclear.

He says the purpose of the FDA is to approve treatments that are known to be effective.

“The politicization of this is to add new aspects that are useless and unnecessary,” he said.

Dr. Saag, who signed COVID-19 himself, I tried hydroxychloroquine this spring And later I regretted it.

“Many scientists said I don’t think this is ready for prime time,” he said of plasma use.

Nationwide Some scientists are worried about the use of emergency authorization COVID-19 undermines the FDA’s credibility, and prompt vaccine demands can lead to public distrust of authorities-approved vaccines.

Polls from the beginning of this summer showed Only 50 percent Americans say it’s okay to get the vaccine.

Meanwhile, scientists are continuing their research for clear data on plasma. Dr. Sonya Heath, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at UAB, is leading the ongoing research.

“I think the problem at this point is really effective,” she said. When is treatment most beneficial in the process of illness? What is the plasma antibody concentration required to produce results?

“Some (donors) make small amounts of antibodies, some make higher ones. We need to know the amount of antibodies that are important for effective treatment,” he said.

Dr. Heath has high hopes for convalescent plasma and says he will use it today if he is treating patients with COVID-19.

“It would be beneficial if we could reduce the severity of the disease to a milder one and people could rejuvenate it at home,” she said.

Many since the FDA approved the emergency use of plasma Clinical trials have been completed nationwide.. Experts such as Dr. Toddleys, a scientist at Vanderbilt University, say that shifting resources from clinical trials impedes a fully scrutinized treatment.

Dr. Rice leads an ongoing national study of convalescent plasma. He said AL.com No Alabama hospital is fully participating in his study.

In some cases, Hospitals in other states have stopped using plasma Continue to participate in clinical trials with urgent approval.

Dr. Joe Adkins, pharmacy director at Springhill Medical Center in Mobile, said his hospital was part of a convalescent plasma study before the emergency permit was approved.

Hospitals now make extensive use of treatment for COVID-19 patients. The risks are low and the benefits are small.

“Currently, (a) there is no magical cure that can be given,” he said of COVID-19. “This leaves us with some different options that seem to be somewhat effective given the data published so far.”

In the mobile clinic infirmary, Dr. Farhan Yunus is in the hospital Clinical trials of convalescent blood Plasma before the institution shifts to the use of treatments under new federal approval.

COVID-19 is a dramatic illness, and sick patients quickly decline. Physicians are feeling strong internal and external pressure to use any of the treatments that can be found during this pandemic.

“If a patient dies in front of us, the natural behavior of the healthcare provider is to do something about it,” he said. “Therefore, we used a drug with no proven benefit.”

He says the patient finds a benefit from plasma treatment and it is worth continuing. Dr. Yunus says scientists are getting better and taking a more cautious approach by understanding COVID-19.

“We are gradually reducing the number of patients throwing kitchen sinks and using things more rationally,” Yunus said. “I hope this process continues.”