A revised guideline for the treatment of adult COVID-19 patients has been issued by the Centre which advises against the use of antibiotics, drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin, and Doxycycline, and convalescent plasma therapy unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection or other endemic infections.

The AIIMS/ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force met on January 5 to revise the clinical guidance protocol. It has also advised doctors not to use convalescent plasma therapy.

“Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. Possibility of co-infection of COVID-19 with other endemic infections must be considered,” the guidelines said.

The guidelines recommend the use of Remdesivir for up to five days in moderate or severe cases with a high risk of progression, and only for those who require supplemental oxygen but are not on IMV or ECMO. The guidelines advise against using Remdesivir for more than five days or in patients who do not require oxygen support or are in a home setting. Additionally, Tocilizumab should be considered within 24-48 hours of severe disease or ICU admission in cases of rapidly progressing moderate or severe disease.

In recent news, after a gap of 129 days, India recorded a rise of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on Sunday, and the following day reported a rise of 918 cases, bringing the active caseload to 6,350.