COVID-19

IDSA Updates COVID-19 Treatment and Management Guidelines

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has updated its guidelines for COVID-19 treatment and management.

“On April 11, 2020, IDSA released online initial treatment recommendations and narrative summaries of other treatments under evaluation. Since that time, the guideline panel and methodologists have continued to monitor the literature and issue updates and addendums to these guidelines in response to evolving research,” the panel wrote.

Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) procedure, the IDSA panel wrote 19 new recommendations to guide health care practitioners in determining the best available treatment for patients with COVID-19, to provide guidance among the influx of COVID-19 literature.

Among the recommendations included in this update of the guidelines: 

  • Hydroxychloroquine should not be given to patients with COVID-19.
  • Hospitalized patients should not be given hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, or the combination lopinavir/ritonavir.
  • Hospitalized patients who are critically ill should be given dexamethasone rather than no dexamethasone.
  • Hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 should not be given bamlanivimab.

 

“This is a living guideline that will be frequently updated as new data emerges,” the panel concluded.

—Leigh Precopio

Reference:

Infectious Diseases Society of America. IDSA guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19. IDSA. Published February 22, 2021. https://www.idsociety.org/globalassets/idsa/practice-guidelines/covid-19/treatment/idsa-covid-19-gl-tx-and-mgmt-v4.0.0.pdf