Stem Cells Therapy for COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Vaccination seems to be a good solution for preventing and controlling coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, but still there are some challenges in COVID-19 vaccination. Investigating new therapeutic options for COVID-19 is necessary. The current study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stem cells in treating patients with COVID-19. We reviewed the relevant scientific literature published up to April 1, 2021. The pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI was assessed using a fixed or random-effect model. We considered < 0.05 as statistically significant for publication bias. Data were analyzed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, Version 2.0 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ). After reviewing 1,262 records, we identified 10 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The analysis showed that stem cell therapy could significantly reduce the mortality rate (RR 0.471, 95% CI: 0.270-0.821) and morbidity (RR 0.788, 95% CI: 0.626-0.992) in patients with COVID-19; compared with the control group. The present study suggests that stem cell therapy has a remarkable effect on reducing mortality and morbidity of patients with COVID-19. Further large-scale studies are needed to approve these results. Defining a protocol for stem cell therapy in patients with COVID-19 can lead to achieving the best clinical outcomes.