She did not hold back her tears when she left the hospital in Mantua , with a 24 - week - old fetus on her lap and another baby waiting for her at home. Patrizia Vincenzi, 28 years old , will be able to embrace her again after thirteen days of hospitalization, in which she defeated the coronavirus, treated with two bags of hyperimmune plasma, taken from recovered patients. A rare if not yet unique case. According to a bibliographic research, Asst Mantua emphasizes , there are no other pregnant women affected by Covid-19 treated and cured with the infusion of the blood component.
"Plasma brought me back to life - said the mother from Mantua today before returning home, after the second negative swab and a moving greeting to the health personnel -. I was very depressed, but I found extraordinary professionals. The baby who will be born will be called Beatrice Vittoria . Why we won this battle ". The woman was hospitalized on April 9 following the Covid path dedicated to pregnancy and the following day, due to the worsening of her conditions, she was transferred to Pulmonology, avoiding assisted ventilation to protect the fetus.
"After plasma therapy - explained Giuseppe De Donno , director of Pneumology of the Mantua hospital - the improvement was decisive". In Mantua they define the treatment path with convalescent plasma, rich in antibodies as "encouraging": as part of the protocol signed with the Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia , 24 patients were treated with 50 bags of blood components. But there is still no clear evidence. "Plasma therapy is a medical practice in place since the late nineteenth century, which has validity and effectiveness we know, we do not know yet for this disease - observed in the press conference at the Civil Protection Luca Richeldi , director of Pneumology at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome and member of the Committee scientific technician - We hope that the experimentation of our Mantua colleagues will give good results, we have no answers because too little time has passed. We will soon have a result, but it is one of the open hopes ".