A groundbreaking treatment method for Long Covid-19 patients was recently introduced at the Academic Hospital Paramaribo (AZP): plasmapheresis, also known as plasma exchange. This method, in which plasma with pathogenic substances is removed from the blood and replaced with clean plasma, is seen worldwide as a possible treatment to reduce the often debilitating symptoms of Long Covid.
In Suriname, the first ten of 24 registered patients underwent this therapy under the supervision of cardio-anesthesiologist Rosita Bihariesingh-Sanchit and her team consisting of internist-clinical immunologist Rakesh Bansie, doctors Debra Bustamente, Rocade Ma, Prija Paltoe and co-assistant Dhiradj Ramesar.
One of the ten patients treated is Jessica de Vries, who has been struggling with the long-term symptoms of Long Covid for months. She shares her experiences with de Ware Tijd and provides an encouraging insight into the possible effects of the treatment.
After her treatment, which consists of five sessions every other day and a three-month evaluation period, she experiences a small but hopeful change in her health for the first time. “I notice that my fatigue has decreased slightly and that my breathing feels a little less heavy. These are not drastic improvements, but after feeling pain for so long and having had Covid-19 ten times despite being vaccinated six times, every progress feels like a victory.”
De Vries says her life has changed drastically since she was infected with Covid-19. Simple actions such as walking, shopping or having a conversation often cost her a lot of effort. Chronic fatigue, concentration problems and respiratory complaints made her daily life difficult and limited her freedom of movement.
Now, thanks to the plasmapheresis treatment, she feels that there is a possibility to take a step towards a normal life again. She especially praises the care team at the AZP, led by Bihariesingh-Sanchit. “The team has supported and guided me fantastically. From the beginning to the end I felt in good hands. It gave me hope to see how committed and expertly the people work.”
Treatment
Plasmapheresis is a procedure in which the blood plasma, which is often full of anti- and other harmful substances in patients with Long Covid, is filtered and replaced with fresh plasma. This process can help reduce inflammatory substances and autoimmune reactions that may contribute to the long-term symptoms of the disease.
Although not considered a miracle cure, plasmapheresis has already shown positive effects in patients worldwide. However, Bihariesingh-Sanchit emphasizes that it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions. “We are in a very early stage of evaluation. The team has worked hard to treat the first ten patients, but we cannot yet make any statements about the long-term effectiveness.”
The treatment is carried out in close collaboration with the Dutch Academic Medical Center (AMC), which is crucial to obtain scientifically substantiated results. All blood samples taken in Suriname are sent to the Netherlands after each session, where experts evaluate them to gain better insight into the changes that occur in the patients’ blood after plasmapheresis.
Promising
The collaboration between AZP and AMC is an important step forward for Suriname, says internist-clinical immunologist Bansie. “It is important that we immediately conduct research into the effect of plasmapheresis on Long Covid and that we contribute to the global knowledge about this. Suriname is a developing country and treatments like these can play a huge role in healthcare in the long term. Ultimately, we want to help not only patients with a high income, but also those with a low income who otherwise do not have the resources for advanced treatments.”
Bansie explains that Long Covid is a complex condition that can cause a wide range of symptoms and has a major impact on the daily lives of patients. “The symptoms are not uniform; each patient experiences them differently. That is precisely why plasmapheresis is an interesting treatment. It focuses on removing harmful substances from the blood, which can be promising for many patients with chronic complaints.”
Offering this innovative treatment in Suriname means a breakthrough for both the medical community and the population. De Vries expresses her gratitude that AZP has taken this step and advises other Long Covid patients to consider the treatment. “I am not only optimistic about my own progress, but also about the possibility that others in Suriname can benefit from this treatment. The fact that we now have this care in Suriname, without having to go abroad, gives hope to many patients who are going through the same battle.”
Bihariesingh-Sanchit emphasizes that she and her team are working hard to support the patients as best as possible, even though the results are not yet fully known. “It is a step in a new direction. We want to increase our knowledge and also contribute to science, so that we can better assess what works for our patients in the future.”
Opportunities
Bansie points out that offering plasmapheresis in Suriname is not only beneficial for the current generation of patients, but also for future ones. “We are now learning more about the long-term effects of Covid-19 and that is valuable for medicine in Suriname and the region. It offers us an opportunity to expand our knowledge and expertise, so that we are better prepared for similar outbreaks or chronic conditions.”
Although the treatment is still relatively new, the positive experience of patients like De Vries offers hope. By collaborating with international medical institutions, such as the AMC, AZP can not only contribute to global science, but also gain valuable insights that can have a direct impact on healthcare in Suriname.
It is certainly also beneficial that Surinamese insurance companies reimburse the treatments for the patients. As Bihariesingh-Sanchit and her team prepare to evaluate the data, the hope for an effective treatment for Long Covid in Suriname continues to grow.
The first results of the treatment of the 24 patients will be crucial to determine whether plasmapheresis can become a standard treatment for Long Covid patients in the country. De Vries and the other patients remain hopeful for further improvement.
She hopes that healthcare in Suriname will continue to develop and that future patients can be helped more quickly. “I am grateful that I have been given this opportunity and I hope that AZP and other hospitals will have even more opportunities to treat patients with chronic conditions, such as Long Covid, in the future,” she concludes
International cooperation
In the coming months, the AZP will continue to monitor the treated patients and share the results with the AMC and other medical institutions worldwide. The aim is to further investigate the effectiveness of plasmapheresis and thus contribute to a better quality of life for Long Covid patients, not only in Suriname. With these first steps in the treatment, the LAN has shown that it wants to play a role in international medical progress and offers hope to those affected by this long-term condition.
Someone is eligible for the Long Covid treatment if they have had a corona infection, are at least eighteen years old and have had more than three of the following complaints for at least six months: fatigue, listlessness, shortness of breath, headache, muscle pain, forgetfulness and reduced ability to smell and taste. These complaints must also have an impact on daily functioning and must not be part of other underlying suffering or another disease.
Doctor Rosita Bihariesingh-Sanchit has been studying plasmapheresis for years and won the Jan Taco te Gussinklo award for this in May last year, during the Data Driven Healthcare conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands, ‘for groundbreaking achievement in healthcare, with the necessary imagination, courage and curiosity’. She has given lectures at conferences in South Africa, Germany, Singapore and Japan, among others.