Case Report: Effects of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Antibodies Obtained With Double Filtration Plasmapheresis

• Main Authors: Diego Curtò, Federica Tomatis, Sara Gastoldi, Miriam Galbusera, Marina Noris, Federico Raimondi, Ferdinando Luca Lorini, Anna Falanga, Marina Marchetti, Giuseppe Remuzzi, Piero Ruggenenti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-01
• Series: Frontiers in Immunology
• Subjects: convalescent antibodies; COVID-19; double filtration plasmapheresis; rituximab; immunosuppression; coagulation biomarkers
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.711915/full

Passive antibody therapy has been used to treat outbreaks of viral disease, including the ongoing pandemic of severe respiratory acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19. However, the real benefits of the procedure are unclear. We infused a concentrated solution of neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies obtained from a convalescent donor with a single session of double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) into a 56-year-old woman with long history of unremitting, severe COVID-19. She was unable to establish an adequate antiviral immune response because of previous chemotherapy, including the infusion of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab, administered to treat a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The disease promptly recovered despite evidence of no endogenous anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody production. The observation that passive antibody therapy might prove particularly effective in immunodepressed COVID-19 patients requires evaluation in prospective randomized controlled trial.