Ministry of health issues revised clinical management protocol for COVID19 allowing use of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab; loss of smell and taste are symptoms
India has allowed use of repurposed drug Remdesivir that is making waves the world over, to be used for COVID19. It has also allowed restricted use of tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy for the disease, while revising the list of symptoms. The new list of COVID19 symptoms includes loss of smell and taste.
The revised clinical management protocol released by the ministry of health on Saturday says: As per data from Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)/ Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) portal case investigation forms for COVID 19 (n=15,366), the details on the signs and symptoms reported are (as on 11.06.2020), fever (27%), cough (21%), sore throat (10%), breathlessness (8%), Weakness (7%), running nose (3%) and others 24%.
While remdesivir a drug originally developed for Ebola is being repurposed for COVID19, tocilizumab is used in autoimmune disorders
While remdesivir a drug originally developed for Ebola is being repurposed for COVID19, tocilizumab is used in autoimmune disorders. Convalescent plasma therapy n(CPT) involves transfusion of the blood plasma of a recovered patient into another patient. It has been used for many other diseases but its efficacy for COVID19 is still under investigation. Hydroxychloroquine will continue to be used but the antibiotic azithromycin is no longer a part of the treatment protocol.
The median incubation period, it lays down is 5.1 days (range 2–14 days). “The precise interval during which an individual with COVID-19 is infectious is uncertain. As per the current evidence, the period of infectivity starts 2 days prior to onset of symptoms and lasts up to 8 days. The extent and role played by pre-clinical/ asymptomatic infections in transmission still remain under investigation,” says the protocol document.
