Prof. Ph.D. Emir Festić graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo in 1994 and specialized in internal medicine in New York. He does his subspecialization in intensive care medicine and pulmonology at the Mayo Clinic, and in 2003 and 2005 he was awarded as the best subspecialist. His research work was rated the best. He received his master's degree in translational research from the Mayo Clinic in 2014, and he received the title of full professor at, one of the world's most prestigious health institutions, in 2018. He currently works at the Mayo Clinic Florida, that is, at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, which is one of Mayo's three campuses. , along with Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Rochester, Minnesota. With Dr. Festić, we talked about the initial activities in our country regarding treatment with convalescent plasma, which, the interlocutor tells us, has been used since May at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, while in Rochester, the use of this plasma started back in April.
- A large observational study of more than 35,000 patients showed some effect of convalescent plasma (CP), where patients who received KP in the first three days had lower mortality and a shorter disease course than those who received KP after four days or later.
Also, blood plasma that had a higher concentration of antibodies gave a slightly better effect. It is important to point out that this was not a randomized study (the most objective way of checking the treatment procedure, op. a) and that there was no placebo, so the result with and without blood plasma cannot be directly compared. Also, there was no standard protocol, and all centers, of which there were more than 2,000, used KP according to their protocol, and patients received other experimental drugs. In the USA, by the end of August, more than 75,000 people had received convalescent plasma. There are probably about 100,000 so far
- Similar to when the population is invited to voluntarily donate blood for transfusion, all those who have recovered are invited to undergo a free antibody test, and, if these are present and in sufficient numbers, then they are offered to donate plasma.
- It's hard to say. There were a lot of people who suffered. Mortality was lower than in earlier studies from China and Europe, but we already know that mortality has improved over time in most countries, so it is hard to say whether this is due to blood plasma or a general improvement in treatment after initial bad experiences.
- I'm not an expert on blood plasma, hematologists, immunologists, and infectious disease specialists certainly know more than me. But, I am sure that we have a lot of experts in these areas who will lead the therapy of KP. Of course, KP is not the only important therapy, teamwork and the overall care and treatment of the patient are important, as well as compliance with infection control measures both in hospitals and outside of them.
- The official number at the end of August was over 75,000 in the US, so probably around 100,000 by now.
- Respect the measures that are generally known, avoid gatherings, especially indoors, wear masks, wash your hands and get as many people and children vaccinated against the flu as possible.
Dr Emir Festić - Teamwork is important
In the US, every healthcare worker must be vaccinated every year, as well as all at-risk population categories.
Stand in the way of spreading disinformation against vaccinations and promote them at every step. This applies to vaccines that are safe, such as for the flu. When the vaccine against COVID-19 comes, which has proven to be safe and has been approved by the competent regulatory agency, do not hesitate; it will help us return to a more or less normal state sooner. (https://www.oslobodjenje.ba/)
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