Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center Utilizing Two Novel Treatments for COVID-19 Patients

In hopes to improve the outcome of critically ill patients being treated for COVID-19, Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center has begun administering remdesivir along with an older treatment sometimes used for other life-threatening infections: therapeutic plasma exchange. Carolina Pines is proud to be the first hospital in the Pee Dee region to utilize these novel treatments for COVID-19 patients. “I applaud our team of doctors for continually researching the most up to date treatments for patients. They work tirelessly around the clock to ensure our patients are receiving the best care possible considering the virus is everchanging,” says Ashlee Horton, BSN, RN, Director of ICU.

When Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Sponseller, was notified that a limited supply of remdesivir was available for use in South Carolina, he quickly applied for the medication for five patients in the COVID-19 unit at Carolina Pines. Each of these patients met the criteria established by DHEC, and the medication was delivered to the facility over the weekend. Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral medicine used to treat certain patients with COVID-19, weakening its effects on the body. “This particular medication inserts itself into the virus and stops the creation of more virus inside the patient’s body,” says Dr. Sponseller. There are currently no medicines approved by the FDA as safe and effective to treat people that are infected with coronavirus. Therefore, the FDA has authorized the emergency use of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Remdesivir is given to patients through an IV once a day. Patients at Carolina Pines received their second dose of the five-day treatment on Sunday, May 17th. “It is still too early to see how these patients are responding to the treatment, but I am hopeful that we will see outstanding outcomes due to our progressive approach in treating our patients here at Carolina Pines.”

The second treatment that Carolina Pines is offering COVID-19 patients is therapeutic plasma exchange. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is different from that of convalescent plasma exchange because it is taken from healthy donors as opposed to individuals that have recovered from COVID-19. Plasma is the portion of the blood that contains Cytokines. “Cytokines are inflammatory properties in the blood, and we believe it’s the Cytokines that are causing all the problems in COVID-19 patients”, says Dr. Sponseller. This exchange is done over the course of three days where the patient’s plasma is removed, and new plasma is filtered in through a catheter in the neck or groin. So far, two patients have received TPE through Carolina Pines’ partnership with the American Red Cross. The course of TPE at Carolina Pines began on Friday, May 15th and was completed on Sunday, May 17th. Dr. Sponseller says, “It is still early, but we have seen improvements in these patients’ lungs through chest x-rays.” Following the course of TPE, patients will be infused with one round of convalescent plasma to complete the treatment.

“We expect to see major results from these interventions this week, and we are confident that these treatments will be successful in getting these patients healthy and back home with their families where they belong.”

Pictured is Chief Medical Officer, Brian Sponseller, and ICU nurse, Faith Kelley, with the TPE machine used to infuse new plasma into COVID-19 patients.