NIH updates COVID-19 treatment guidelines

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA has updated its guidelines on treating COVID-19. Here is a look at what is new:

• Treatment recommendations are outlined according to the severity of the disease. For example, for COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalised or who are hospitalised but not on supplemental oxygen, no particular antiviral or immunomodulatory treatment is recommended, and the panel recommends against using dexamethasone. For hospitalised patients on oxygen (but without needing a high-flow device or mechanical ventilation), remdesivir alone or with dexamethasone is advised.

• Increasing evidence points to persistent symptoms after COVID-19 recovery — including headache, vision and hearing changes, loss of taste or smell, memory loss, and cognitive impairment for up to 3 months — but effective management strategies have not been identified. This may occur even in patients with mild COVID-19.

• Sections have been added on managing COVID-19 in HIV-infected patients, as well as on sedation management and post-intensive care syndrome in ICU patients.

See the full guidelines here: https://files.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/guidelines/covid19treatmentguidelines.pdf