CLINICAL EFFICACY OF THE APPLICATION OF POOLED MESENCHIMAL STEM CELLS OF THE OLFACTORY LINING FOR THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA COMPLICATED BY ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME

Abstract

Background. The difficulty in diagnosing COVID-19 is associated with the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, and treatment is difficult because the course of the disease varies from asymptomatic to severe viral pneumonia, with a cytokine storm and development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Certain hopes in the treatment of COVID-19 and ARDS are currently pinned on the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to their ability to influence the immune system and activate the regeneration of damaged tissues. The aim of the study was to improve the clinical efficacy of existing methods of treating patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome using cell therapy with pooled MSCs. Material and methods. The subjects of the study were patients with COVID-19-associated pneumonia (U07.1 according to ICD-10), severe course, acute respiratory syndrome (U04) (study group (n=14) and comparison group (n=18)). Clinical and laboratory studies were carried out by routine methods using commercial test systems. Results. Good tolerability and safety of the method of treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 complicated by ARDS using pooled MSCs were shown. 57% of patients who received pooled MSCs did not need to be transferred to mechanical ventilation in the next 7 days. In the study group, 43% of patients survived (6 out of 14), which was significantly higher than in the control group (5.6%, 1 out of 18) (z=2.07; p=0.038). A correlation was found between lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and the outcome of a severe form of coronavirus infection, and criteria were established for selecting patients for cell therapy based on the level of LDH increase by no more than 1.85 times. Administration of pooled MSCs at LDH level higher than 519.8 U/l was ineffective.