High-titer post-vaccine COVID-19 convalescent plasma for immunocompromised patients during the first omicron surge

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
High-titer post-vaccine COVID-19 convalescent plasma for immunocompromised patients during the first omicron surge
Abstract
Background Transplant and hematologic malignancy patients have high Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality and impaired vaccination responses. Omicron variant evades several monoclonal antibodies previously used in immunocompromised patients. Polyclonal COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) may provide broader neutralizing capacity against new variants at high titers. Vaccination increases severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) titer in convalescent donors. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of hospitalized immunocompromised patients with COVID-19 who received high-titer CCP during the first omicron surge, collected from vaccinated donors within 6 months of pre-omicron COVID-19. Data on safety and outcomes were extracted. Results A total of 44 immunocompromised patients were included, 59.1% with solid organ transplant, 22.7% with hematopoietic cell transplant, 11.4% with hematologic malignancy, and 6.8% with autoimmune disease. Overall, 95% of CCP units transfused were from recently recovered and vaccinated donors and had SARS-CoV-2 antibody results 8- to 37-fold higher than the Food and Drug Administration's cutoff for high-titer CCP. There were two mild transfusion reactions. A total of 30-day mortality was 4.5%. There were no differences in 100-day mortality by underlying diagnosis, levels of immunosuppression, and timing of CCP administration. Patients with higher immunosuppression had significantly higher mean World Health Organization clinical progression scores at 30-day post-CCP compared to those with lower immunosuppression. Conclusions CCP is a safe, globally available treatment for immunocompromised patients with COVID-19. Mortality was lower in our cohort than that of COVID-19 patients with similar immunocompromising conditions. Post-vaccine CCP with very high titers should be prioritized for study in immunocompromised patients. Post-vaccine CCP has the potential to keep pace with new variants by overcoming mutations at sufficiently high titer.
Publication
Transplant Infectious Disease
Date
2023
Volume
25
Issue
2
Pages
e14055
Accessed
5/20/23, 10:29 AM
ISSN
1399-3062
Language
en
Library Catalog
Wiley Online Library
Citation
Tayyar, R., Wong, L. K., Dahlen, A., Shu, E., Pandey, S., & Liu, A. Y. (2023). High-titer post-vaccine COVID-19 convalescent plasma for immunocompromised patients during the first omicron surge. Transplant Infectious Disease, 25(2), e14055. https://doi.org/10.1111/tid.14055
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