Abstract
Treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is experimental, and the effectiveness of ribavirin-steroid therapy is unclear. Forty SARS patients with progressive disease after ribavirin treatment and 1.5 g of pulsed methylprednisolone were given either convalescent plasma (n = 19) or further pulsed methylprednisolone (n = 21) in a retrospective non-randomised study. Good clinical outcome was defined as discharge by day 22 following the onset of symptoms. Convalescent plasma was obtained from recovered patients after informed consent. Patients in the plasma group had a shorter hospital stay (p 0.001) and lower mortality (p 0.049) than the comparator group. No immediate adverse effects were observed following plasma infusion.
Publication types
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Clinical Trial
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Comparative Study
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Aged
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage*
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
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Antiviral Agents / administration & dosage
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Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
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Convalescence*
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Drug Therapy, Combination
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Methylprednisolone / administration & dosage*
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Methylprednisolone / therapeutic use
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Middle Aged
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Plasma / immunology*
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Pulse Therapy, Drug
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Retrospective Studies
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Ribavirin / administration & dosage
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Ribavirin / therapeutic use
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / drug therapy*
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / immunology
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / mortality
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / drug effects
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Treatment Outcome
Substances
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents
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Antiviral Agents
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Ribavirin
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Methylprednisolone