Immunoglobulins or convalescent plasma to tackle COVID-19: buying time to save lives – current situation and perspectives

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 , caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and is now a global challenge since its rapid spread worldwide. As of 28 April 2020, there are globally 2,883,603 laboratoryconfirmed cases, 198,842 confirmed deaths, and 213 countries, areas or territories with cases. The global mortality appears to be around 6.84% [1]. Published data indicate a rate of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) of hospitalised patients for SARS-COV-2 pneumonia of 25.9%. Moreover, 20.1% of patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)