NIH Issues COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

The National Institutes of Health has issued guidelines for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Their recommendations include:

• The use of any agents for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is not recommended outside of the setting of a clinical trial (AIII).
• The use of any agents for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against SARS-CoV-2 infection is not recommended outside of the setting of a clinical trial (AIII).
• No additional laboratory testing and no specific treatment are recommended for persons with suspected or confirmed asymptomatic or presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (AIII).
• There are currently no drugs that have demonstrated safety and efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. Current data are insufficient to formulate any recommendations for or against the use of any antiviral or immunomodulatory therapy among persons with COVID-19 with mild, moderate, severe, or critical illness (AIII).

The new guidelines also include recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19 in the context of critical care and concomitant medications.

The authors of the guidelines note that these guidelines will be updated regularly as new, authoritative data emerge. To read the full guidelines, click here.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
National Institutes of Health. COVID-19 treatment guidelines. https://covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/introduction/ Site updated April 21, 2020. Accessed April 22, 2020.