NICE publishes new COVID-19 management guidelines

The UK’s National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published new guidelines on the management of patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, as well as those without COVID-19.

The new guidelines include recommendations for individuals with severe asthma, pneumonia, rheumatological disorders as well as recommendations for symptom management.

Individuals with these specific disorders have been identified as being more at-risk of becoming seriously ill with the novel coronavirus disease, hence the updated guidelines on patient management.

For those with severe asthma, has recommended that individuals should continue to take their treatment as normal and only attend essential appointments. The health organisation has also recommended that severe asthmatics should regularly clean equipment including face mask and mouth pieces.

Individuals with rheumatological autoimmune, inflammatory and metabolic bone disorders who become infected with the novel coronavirus have been advised not to halt their medication entirely but should seek advice on which medicines to continue and which should be temporarily stopped.

NICE has also provided updated advice to health professionals on the management of cough, fever, breathlessness and anxiety, as well as delirium and agitation in those with COVID-19.

That includes considering the use of paracetamol in people with a fever, and advising those with a mild cough to take simple measures such as avoiding lying on their back, which can make the condition worse.

If and when a cough becomes more severe, healthcare professionals could consider the short-term use of codeine linctus, codeine phosphate tablets or morphine sulphate oral solution.

Additional guidelines are set to be announced in due course, and will likely include advice on conditions such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and dermatological conditions in which people receive immunotherapy.

The guidelines, which are being produced in collaboration with NHS England/Improvement and a cross-speciality group, will be made internationally available so that health systems across the world can see the UK’s approach to the pandemic.

The new UK guidelines were published only a few days before Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus. Johnson was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening after experiencing ‘persistent symptoms’, although this has been reported to only be a ‘precautionary step’.

According to the latest figures, there are over 48,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the UK and there have been close to 5,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the country.