Expert opinion
Few controlled studies have been carried out to assess the efficacy of convalescent PT in viral infections, perhaps for its application only in emergencies during epidemics. Surely the many ongoing studies will give us a better picture of the situation. There are still many unresolved issues such as the right dose to be administered in the various categories of patients in both prophylaxis and treatment. In addition, we need to clarify the duration of effectiveness of PT from the moment it is administered and whether it should be used in prophylaxis in the categories of individuals most at risk of infection, such as elderly patients, immunodepressed patients, healthcare professionals, individuals with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, residents of nursing homes. Prevention would bring direct clinical benefit to people at risk. In addition, the benefits for society as a whole would be far-reaching, including the protection of healthcare workers working at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the effectiveness of convalescent PT on healing and the effect it can have in preventing worsening clinical conditions should also be investigated. Another aspect to be clarified is the right time to take the convalescent plasma from the healed donor patient, advised that the amount of antibodies neutralizing the virus changes over time. However, it is likely that convalescent PT can be therapeutically effective in COVID-19 prophylaxis and in stages one, two and three of the infection, even in polypharmacy with antivirals.