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Case report
Effective use of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of persistent COVID-19 infection in a patient on rituximab
  1. Carlos X Rabascall1,
  2. Becky X Lou1,
  3. Brianne Navetta-Modrov2 and
  4. Stella S Hahn1
  1. 1Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, New York, USA
  2. 2Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Carlos X Rabascall; crabascallay{at}northwell.edu

Abstract

As we are over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made many forward strides in therapeutics. These treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies, have help mitigate the detrimental and often fatal consequences of COVID-19. The current indication for the use of monoclonal antibodies is mild to moderate COVID-19 infection within 10 days of symptom onset in those who are at high risk of progression to severe disease. However, their role in patients with prolonged symptoms is not clear. We present a unique case of monoclonal antibodies use after 54 days of symptom onset in an immunosuppressed patient with persistent COVID-19 infection despite standard treatment. This case illustrates the potential use of monoclonal antibodies outside of the current recommended therapeutic window in immunosuppressed patients, who may have difficulty with viral clearance.

  • COVID-19
  • pneumonia (respiratory medicine)
  • drugs: respiratory system

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-243469

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors CXR wrote and edited the manuscript. BXL wrote and edited the manuscript, and designed the images. SSH wrote and edited the manuscript, and designed the images. BN-M reviewed and edited the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.