Govt lists SOPS for clinical management of patients
nNEWDELHI:THE Delhi government on Saturday issued guidelines for the clinical management of patients with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in state-run and private hospitals across the city.
The “clinical management protocols for adult patients with confirmed Covid-19 infection” were drafted by doctors at Maulana Azad Medical College as a standard operating protocol for according to an office memorandum issued by the state health secretary Padmini Singla.
The Delhi government-run Lok Nayak hospital, associated with MAMC, is the biggest hospital treating Covid-19 in the state. Currently, there are at least 1,000 Covid-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
The guidelines say that Covid-19 patients with fever, sore throat and headache but no co-morbidities be given paracetamol for the fever and anti-allergy medicine for symptomatic treatment.
Those with mild pneumonia are to be given antibiotics and paracetamol. Those with severe pneumonia have been advised oxygen along with antibiotics including azithromycin along with antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
Patients who develop sudden respiratory problems or go into multi-organ failure have to be admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit) and placed on ventilator support if needed; they are also to be given the same treatment as those with severe pneumonia, according to the guidelines.
“In the absence of a specific therapy for Covid-19, these guidelines recommend the use of hydroxychloroquine for patients with severe disease under very strict clinical supervision. Apart from that, the document just lists parameters for mild, moderate, and severe disease and the recommended treatment. These are guidelines for medical practitioners and standardise the antibiotics given etc,” said Dr GC Khilnani, PSRI institute of critical and pulmonary and critical and former and head of pulmonary medicine at AIIMS. He is also part of the fivemember expert committee of the Delhi government.
The dosage of all the medicines have also been mentioned in the guidelines, which also specify which tests need to be done, and when.
The 70-page document also lists the standard precautions to be followed in the hospital such as hand hygiene, wearing appropriate protective gear, safe waste management, and cleaning and disinfection of equipment and environment. The document also provides requirements for testing facilities including space, manpower, and safety conditions, along with guidance on sample collection, data entry protocol, and which samples need to be retested.