COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing symptoms (including at the end of life) in the community

Excerpt

The purpose of this guideline is to provide recommendations for managing COVID-19 symptoms for patients in the community, including at the end of life. It also includes recommendations about managing medicines for these patients, and protecting staff from infection.

MHRA advice on warfarin and other anticoagulants: In October 2020, we amended recommendations on taking into account a patient’s existing medicines to link to MHRA advice on warfarin and other anticoagulants – monitoring of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes reports of supratherapeutic anticoagulation with warfarin.

This guideline focuses on what you need to stop or start doing during the pandemic. Follow the usual professional guidelines, standards and laws (including those on equalities, safeguarding, communication and mental capacity), as described in making decisions using NICE guidelines.

This guideline is for:

1. health and care practitioners

2. health and care staff involved in planning and delivering services

3. commissioners.

The recommendations bring together

1. existing national and international guidance and policies

2. advice from specialists working in the NHS from across the UK. These include people with expertise and experience of treating patients for the specific health conditions covered by the guidance during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

We developed this guideline using the interim process and methods for developing rapid guidelines on COVID-19 in response to the rapidly evolving situation. We will review and update the recommendations as the knowledge base develops using the interim process and methods for guidelines developed in response to health and social care emergencies.