The following is a summary of “Single Site Experience of the use of Monoclonal Antibodies for the Treatment of COVID-19 in High-risk Pediatric and Young Adult Patients” published in the December 2022 issue of Pediatric Infectious Disease by Bahakel et al.


Since the beginning of the pandemic, researchers have looked for effective medicinal drugs to treat COVID-19. To treat moderate COVID illness in high-risk groups, investigators have produced monoclonal antibodies targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Although monoclonal antibody infusions are commonly used in adults, there needs to be more information regarding their safety and effectiveness in teens and young adults. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease treated with bamlanivimab, bamlanivimab-etesevimab, casirivimab-imdevimab, or sotrovimab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center from 5/1/2020 to 3/1/2022 were identified retrospectively. Standard descriptive summaries were used to summarize the demographic, adverse event, and outcome data that was collected from the patient charts.

About 104 patients were treated with monoclonal antibodies; 14 patients (14.9%) were given bamlanivimab or bamlanivimab-etesevimab, 54 (56.4%) were given casirivimab-imdevimab, and 26(27.6%) were given sotrovimab. 10 individuals (10.6%) had at least one negative reaction to their injection. The patients who had negative reactions to the infusion stopped receiving it, and their symptoms went away. There were no fatalities or occurrences that threatened human life. 

In the first 90 days after receiving a monoclonal antibody, 12 individuals (12.7%) still needed additional medical attention for COVID symptoms. About 5  of these patients required hospitalization or had their treatment in the hospital escalated. Later, everyone made a complete recovery. There was no correlation between the presence or absence of infusion-related adverse events or the need for hospitalization due to continuing COVID-19 symptoms after administration of the monoclonal antibody. In high-risk teenage and young adult populations, monoclonal antibodies for treating COVID-19 are generally well tolerated.

Source; journals.lww.com/pidj/Fulltext/2022/12000/Single_Site_Experience_of_the_use_of_Monoclonal.10.aspx

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