Rescue therapy for severe COVID-19–associated acute respiratory distress syndrome with tissue plasminogen activator: A case series


Journal article


Christopher D. Barrett, Achikam Oren-Grinberg, Edward Chao, A. Moraco, Matthew J. Martin, Srinivas H. Reddy, A. Ilg, Rashi Jhunjhunwala, M. Uribe, H. Moore, E. Moore, Elias N. Baedorf-Kassis, M. Krajewski, D. Talmor, S. Shaefi, M. Yaffe
Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2020

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APA   Click to copy
Barrett, C. D., Oren-Grinberg, A., Chao, E., Moraco, A., Martin, M. J., Reddy, S. H., … Yaffe, M. (2020). Rescue therapy for severe COVID-19–associated acute respiratory distress syndrome with tissue plasminogen activator: A case series. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Barrett, Christopher D., Achikam Oren-Grinberg, Edward Chao, A. Moraco, Matthew J. Martin, Srinivas H. Reddy, A. Ilg, et al. “Rescue Therapy for Severe COVID-19–Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome with Tissue Plasminogen Activator: A Case Series.” Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (2020).


MLA   Click to copy
Barrett, Christopher D., et al. “Rescue Therapy for Severe COVID-19–Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome with Tissue Plasminogen Activator: A Case Series.” Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2020.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{christopher2020a,
  title = {Rescue therapy for severe COVID-19–associated acute respiratory distress syndrome with tissue plasminogen activator: A case series},
  year = {2020},
  journal = {Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery},
  author = {Barrett, Christopher D. and Oren-Grinberg, Achikam and Chao, Edward and Moraco, A. and Martin, Matthew J. and Reddy, Srinivas H. and Ilg, A. and Jhunjhunwala, Rashi and Uribe, M. and Moore, H. and Moore, E. and Baedorf-Kassis, Elias N. and Krajewski, M. and Talmor, D. and Shaefi, S. and Yaffe, M.}
}

Abstract

ABSTRACT The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented stresses on modern medical systems, overwhelming the resource infrastructure in numerous countries while presenting a unique series of pathophysiologic clinical findings. Thrombotic coagulopathy is common in critically ill patients suffering from COVID-19, with associated high rates of respiratory failure requiring prolonged periods of mechanical ventilation. Here, we report a case series of five patients suffering from profound, medically refractory COVID-19–associated respiratory failure who were treated with fibrinolytic therapy using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA; alteplase). All five patients appeared to have an improved respiratory status following tPA administration: one patient had an initial marked improvement that partially regressed after several hours, one patient had transient improvements that were not sustained, and three patients had sustained clinical improvements following tPA administration. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, Level V.