New Delhi: Even as confusion over plasma therapys benefit is discussed, with the Centre announcing it might remove convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) from the national guideline on treating COVID-19, medical experts here have said that more studies need to be conducted before ruling out the therapy completely as it has undoubtedly benefited mild patients. On Tuesday, Dr Balram Bhargava chief of ICMR, which is advising the government on pandemic management, said discussions on discontinuing CPT were almost at the final stage. The discussion of whether the therapy should be deleted from the national covid protocol is also on. A study has been done on 464 patients across 39 hospitals, which has shown no major benefits to them. Speaking on these results, Dr Amarinder Singh Malhi, Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Radiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences said, "The study done on patients has not shown any added benefit through plasma therapy. There are some drugs that are proving beneficial, at the moment. These include dexamethasone, which are effective where plasma has not much role. Meanwhile, plasma therapy is not beneficial in decreasing the mortality rate in severe patients." Echoing the same sentiments Kanishk Yadav, Nursing Officer at AIIMS, who has also successfully managed to arrange plasma donors throughout the city said, "Plasma is effective only in the early stages. Earlier, we were taking a theoretical approach that it contains antibodies. We used it with the thought that whoever has fewer anti-bodies we would give it to them. However, for severe patients the plasma is ineffective." Dr Prabhat Sinha, a Consultant (Internal Medicine) at Aakash Hospital, however, said that at a mild stage, the plasma has been helpful. "Theoretically when we see that somebody is having the virus and somebody is having antibodies in plasma, which is transfused to the patient, the viral load goes down, the patient recovery is better. At the same time, if the patient goes into the severity of the disease with the involvement of multiple organ dysfunction, in that case, plasma or any other medicine does not work. But to say that plasma is completely ineffective is not true." Dr HS Chhabra, Medical Director at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, which is a COVID-dedicated hospital, said that the plasma therapy was an experimental therapy and not an established one. "It was based on some preliminary studies that the therapy might be useful, but there is not a good level of evidence. To the ICMR study, the response has not been so good," he said, adding that more studies need to be done on the same. "The therapy should not be on charges, people should be told it is part of experimental study and a larger study should be done. Just on one study, they should not say it is effective but it should also not be made a standard procedure. It could be for those who are willing to participate in the research trial," Dr Chhabra said.

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