WHO Updates COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
The World Health Organization's Guideline Development Group has revised its recommendations for COVID-19 patient treatments through a panel of global experts. The updated recommendations offer reliable and current advice on managing COVID-19 and assist physicians in better decision-making with patients.
These new recommendations were published in the journal The BMJ ().
Updated Guidelines on Treatment and Management of COVID-19 Patients
These guidelines were developed by the World Health Organization with the methodological support of the MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation.‘The World Health Organization's updates on COVID-19 patient treatment might serve as a guiding light for medical practitioners worldwide. #WHOupdates #covid_19 #guidelines’
The guidance incorporates the latest clinical trial evidence for existing and new COVID-19 therapies and takes account of evidence relating to safety, prognosis, resources, access, and equity issues, as well as patient values and preferences.
The updates include:
- Distinct risk categories to help doctors more accurately assess whether an individual is at high, moderate, or low risk of hospital admission and tailor treatment accordingly.
- A new treatment benefit threshold of 1.5% (down from 6%) reduction in the risk of hospital admission. This reflects the lower baseline risk for most patients with non-severe COVID-19 as well as more safety evidence and wider availability of therapies.
- A recommendation to use the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in patients with non-severe COVID-19 at high and moderate risk of hospital admission.
- A recommendation against the use of the antiviral drugs remdesivir and molnupiravir for patients with non-severe COVID-19 at moderate and low risk of hospital admission (treatment is suggested for patients at high risk of admission).
- A recommendation against the use of a new antiviral (VV116) for patients with COVID-19 except in clinical trials, regardless of illness severity.
The experts say the new recommendations reflect changes in the virulence and transmissibility of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and sub-variants, along with changes in immunity related to global vaccinations, which have led to lower baseline risks of severe illness and death for most patients with non-severe COVID-19.
They acknowledge that there are still uncertainties around COVID-19 therapeutics and emerging evidence and say these recommendations need to be used in light of these uncertainties.
An interactive decision support tool is available to accompany this guidance.
Reference:
- A living WHO guideline on drugs for covid-19 - (https:www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3379)
Source: Eurekalert