New Delhi, November 18: ICMR, on Wednesday, issued an advisory against the indiscriminate use of Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. It conducted trials across various hospitals in India on the use of CPT and concluded that it did not lead to a reduction in progression to severe  COVID-19. It was an open-label second phase randomised controlled trail on the use of plasma therapy in the management of moderate COVID-19 cases. India To Discard Convalescent Plasma Therapy From COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines, ‘Not Helping’ Says ICMR, Days After WHO Says Remdesivir Not Effective.

"ICMR conducted an open-label phase II multicentre randomised controlled trial in India across 39 public and private hospitals on the use of convalescent plasma in the management of cases with moderate COVID-19 disease (PLACID Trial)," said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It concluded that an indiscriminate use of the CPT is not advisable for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. India in Final Stages of Framing Protocols for Clinical Trial of Plasma Therapy, Says ICMR.

It was found that the CPT did not cause any reduction in the progression of moderate COVID-19 cases to severe ones.  ICMR added, "It was concluded that Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) did not lead to a reduction in progression to severe COVID-19 or all-cause mortality in the group that received CPT as compared to the group that did not receive CPT4. Indiscriminate use of CPT is not advisable."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2020 11:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).