Obstacles come one after another; some reappear. But to keep your fight to the finish and smile victoriously even in your pains is meritorious.
The journey for a 38-year-old diabetic woman in Bengaluru is one such. The Bengaluru city has made a breakthrough with Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) on her that has proved quintessentially effective. After the CPT, the woman has tested negative to the coronavirus tests.
Success trials of CPT
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's bulletin, the woman hails from Thanisandra, DJ Halli. She had tested Covid-19 positive on May 24 and by the next day, started showing its symptoms.
The 38-year-old woman shifted from Bowring Institute to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) at the Victoria hospital campus is the second patient in the city to undergo the CPT.
According to Dr CR Jayanthi, director-cum-dean of BMCRI, "The second plasma therapy patient is stable and has been shifted out of the ICU. This 38-year-old female was showing severe symptoms of Covid-19. She was also diabetic with poor sugar control." "She was put on high flow nasal oxygen, antibiotics and Covid-19 treatment as per protocol," added the doctor.
The CPT was carried out on May 27 and soon the woman started showing 'steady improvement in her condition resulting in her being weaned off high flow nasal oxygen on June 2.' Two days later, she was shifted from the ICU to her ward and is presently on two litres/minute oxygen.
The patient also had symptoms of breathlessness, cough, fever and her saturation was less than 90 per cent.
CPT procedure
For the CPT, the plasma is cultured from the blood collected from the recovered Covid-19 persons, which is then stored at minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This blood component is then administered to critically ill patients to help their bodies develop natural immunity.
The first patient who received CPT was from Hubbali. Although the patient later died, CPT had resulted in better health conditions. "The death of the patient was definitely not because CPT was administered at a critical stage. He had a severe case of pneumonia," said Dr Jayanthi.
Over eight donors have now registered for donating blood for plasma therapy at the HCG Cancer Institute, working in association with BMCRI.
