Dr. Karina, SpBP-RP Finds Companion Method For Healing COVID-19 Patients (Part 1)

JAKARTA – The COVID-19 pandemic is still a scourge throughout the world. Moreover, this virus developed into various variants; Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Lambda, Kappa and so on. As a health worker, Dr. Karina is concerned about this situation, especially her best friend who is also an expert in internal medicine, had to die because of this virus. This is where he came up with the idea of using PRP (platelet-rich plasma) for COVID-19 patients.

As a beauty specialist, he does not treat COVID-19 patients. He became more and more curious about what caused this virus to attack so badly, how to handle this disease in a hospital and so on. Finally, he tried to come up with the idea of using PRP, which he often uses as a beauty doctor for companion therapy for COVID-19 patients, in addition to the main therapy that has been applied so far.

Starting from this issue, we will continue to present the results of a special interview with Dr. Karina. With his scientific background and practical experience so far, he proposed the use of the PRP method which is commonly used in the fields of orthopedic and cosmetic medicine for companion therapy for COVID-19 patients. He named his method aaPRP (activated autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma).

Then, what is the use of this aaPRP method like? This is the explanation of Dr. dr. Karina, SpBP-RP. “The use of PRP for medicine is already common. Beauticians and orthopedic doctors use it the most. However, for complementary therapy for COVID-19 patients, this is the first time it has been used. Because so far no one has reported the application of this therapy,” he said.

How did this University of Indonesia alumni have the idea to use aaPRP as a companion therapy for COVID-19 patients? It turned out that everything was sparked during a lunchtime chat with a colleague who is an anesthesiologist at the Koja Hospital, North Jakarta. “I came up with this idea actually by accident. The trigger was when a friend of mine who was a specialist in internal medicine had to pass away due to exposure to COVID-19. Then I communicated with my colleague who is also a doctor and works at the Koja Hospital, North Jakarta. From the conversation with him, I proposed the idea of using the PRP method as a companion therapy for COVID-19 patients," said Dr. Karina said that when she was met at the Hayandra Clinic, Kramat, Central Jakarta, not long ago.

This idea was not immediately approved by Dr. The Karina. As a critical doctor, he questions whether there is any supporting literature on this complementary therapy. “At that time I also looked on the internet, it was not there. Because indeed no one has tried and done it for therapy in COVID-19 patients. So there are no medical reports in scientific journals," he said.

The PRP said Dr. Karina contains three main factors; anti-inflammatory, growth factor and anti-bacterial. These three factors are very much needed by COVID-19 patients. “When I finished my dissertation, my research used PRP to improve stem cell action in diabetic patients. And it has been proven to improve the work of stem cells," he said.

If the use of PRP has become commonplace in medical circles, especially orthopedic doctors and beauticians, and many people have felt the benefits, then what's new about aaPRP? “No one has tried to use this PRP to help COVID-19 patients yet. We were the first to do it. So what is new is the indication of using PRP to help COVID-19 patients. We call it aaPRP,” he said.

It was from her colleague who is an anesthesiologist at Koja Hospital that Karina got a lot of information about COVID-19. "He said that a lot of COVID-19 patients at Koja Hospital had died. I asked if it was medicine, the answer was no. It turned out that the cause of death of the patient there was due to a cytokine storm. Namely, inflammation of the implants in the body of COVID-19 patients. Because I have basic knowledge about inflammation, then I spontaneously say, if it's inflammation, I'll give anti-inflammatory, please, "he said.

Apparently, Karina said, her colleague had also given anti-inflammatories to her patients because it was the national protocol for handling COVID-19 patients. “After I asked how many doses were given, it turned out that I thought it was too much. I then proposed PRP as an anti-inflammatory,” he continued.

Long story short Dr. Karina and her colleagues agreed to test PRP for COVID-19 patients after obtaining permission from the hospital director and for clinical trials and ethical tests from FK UI. "According to the rules from the UI FK, we involved 10 patients for phase one clinical trials. And the results turned out to be safe, "he said.

After that while preparing for the second phase of clinical trials, Karina and the team published the results of the aaPRP testing as a companion therapy for COVID-19. “The second phase with 20 patients and the results are good, promising. And we publish it too,” he said.

So, what Dr Karina did by using aaPRP as a companion therapy as of the time of this writing can actually be used as a complementary therapy for COVID-19.

In the aaPRP method, the patient's blood is taken one and a half tablespoons. After processing in the laboratory. The patient's blood is returned to the body of the COVID-19 patient in question through an IV. “We only took one and a half tablespoons of blood, so not much. And the process of taking it from the time it is returned is about an hour and a half,” said Dr. Karina.