Pocket Book of Clinical Management of COVID-19 in Healthcare Setting: 2nd Edition with Revision

Overview

This is the second edition of the Ministry of Health and Population‘s, Pocket book for Case Management of COVID19 in the Healthcare Setting.

The first edition was adapted from the Interim Guidance for Caring of Patients with COVID-19 in Healthcare settings, Nepal Medical Council (NMC) and aligned with Clinical management of COVID-19, Interim Guidance, WHO (May
27, 2020).

The rationale for this updated edition has been to expand the scope of the earlier guidance, bringing together recently updated recommendations from WHO’s Clinical Management: Living Guidance January 2021 and Therapeutics and COVID-19 (Living Guidelines, 24 September 2021), as well as the Clinical Care for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection: Toolkit-COVID-19 Adaptation: WHO 2020 and advice from subject matter experts.

This edition provides updated technical guidance in several case management clinical areas as follows:

• Revision of the release from the COVID-19 clinical pathway criteria
• Addition of Treatment of acute co-infections
• Addition of prevention of complications, immunomodulators and other adjunct therapies
• Revision of recommendations on use of antivirals and corticosteroids in COVID-19
• Assessment of severity by National early Warning Score 2 (NEWS 2).

Purpose

The purpose of this pocketbook is to help physicians, and healthcare workers, to properly manage persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and to standardize case management of COVID-19 cases throughout the country. It is not meant to replace clinical judgement or specialist consultation, but rather to strengthen frontline clinical management.

Target

The intended target audience are physicians, nurses, other healthcare personnel, involved in the clinical management of COVID-19 cases.