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Convalescent plasma therapy, an experimental procedure, helped rescue a sinking Covid patient in Kerala.
The 51-year-old man was taken off the ventilator four days after the treatment.
Performed as a medical emergency, the technique was employed at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Thrissur, making it the first such instance in the State that has earned worldwide acclaim in its battling the pandemic.
The patient a Delhi-returned Keralite, tested positive for Covid on June 6 and faced acute respiratory complications five days later, and was put on ventilator.
On June 11 night, the patient underwent the therapy that lasted till daybreak.
The procedure involves using plasma from volunteers who have recovered from Covid and are above the age of 18.
The plasma has to collected between the first and fourth months after cure. The plasma is used to treat the patient, said MA Andrews, principal of the GMC. The therapy has proven its potential to give the patient a fresh lease of life.
The patient is recuperating in ICU after being put on ventilator for six days.
The procedure was carried out by personnel of the GMC’s departments of medicine, transfusion medicine and anesthesia.
The team also administered the immunosuppressive drug Tocilizumab (also known as atlizumab) typically used to treat arthritis.
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