The comparison of the mortality rates of plasmapheresis/hemoperfusion therapy with current treatment among Covid-19 patients

BACKGROUND: There is no definitive treatment for COVID-19. Hemoperfusion and plasmapheresis have only been studied in a few cases of COVID-19. In this study, plasmapheresis-hemoperfusion and current treatment for COVID-19 patients were compared for mortality. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 103 patients with COVID-19 underwent hemoperfusion, plasmapheresis, and conventional medical treatment in educational hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. A census method was used to include the patients in the study. The data from the hospital file were used to complete a checklist containing demographic information, clinical findings, and paraclinical findings for all patients. RESULTS: There was not a statistically significant difference (P-value = 0.051) between the plasmapheresis group (78.8%), the hemoperfusion group (71.9%), and the current treatment group (52.6%) in mortality rates. Hemoperfusion had a median survival time of 18.9 days, plasmapheresis had a median survival time of 16.9 days, and current treatment had a median survival time of 13.5 days. In terms of patient survival time, there was no significant difference (P-value = 0.181). Multiple regression results showed that death rates in the hemoperfusion (P = 0.393) and plasmapheresis (P = 0.073) groups were not statistically different from those in the current treatment group. CONCLUSION: As a result of this study, there were no differences between the treatment groups in regard to death rates or patient survival times.