The effect of therapeutic plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy on biomarkers and 28-day mortality in patients with COVID-19 in intensive care unit

Background: The aim of our study was to determine the effectiveness of the co-administration of therapeutic plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in intensive care patients with COVID-19. Material and methods: In the propensity-matched study 46 patients were evaluated. The groups were defined as patients who received plasmapheresis + IVIg and standard treatment, and patients who received only standard treatment. The primary outcome of the study was determined as a 28-day mortality rate. Secondary outcome measures; demographic data were biomarkers of inflammation at admission and treatment days. Results: In the evaluation of 23 patients in 2 groups, no statistically significant difference was found between demographic data, vital and respiratory status, additional diseases and treatments applied (p>0.05) .There was no difference in 28-day mortality rates between the two groups (p:0.688). CRP, IL-6 and Ferritin Lymphocytes values in the TPE+IVIg group were lower when compared to the control group in the values measured after the treatment (p