The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has come out with new case management guidelines for the treatment and discharge of COVID-19 patients.
Director-general, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who announced the new guidelines, said the latest guidelines was released following new science emerging in relation to the duration of infectivity of individual patients.
According to him, the two critical groups of patient covered in the guidelines are the symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.
“The symptomatic patients will now be discharged at least 10 days after symptom onset and at least three days without symptoms, while asymptomatic patients can be discharged 14 days after the first PCR positive test.
“We no longer have to wait for a negative test to discharge, with confidence that you can go home and you are no longer infective or putting family or friends at risk. If your symptoms last for longer, we will wait while managing,” he said.
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Ihekweazu, who noted that physicians are hesitant about the new guidelines, assured them of the effectiveness of the new guidelines.
“So, we are confident on the impact if this change is difficult, because we have been saying you have to have a negative test, so even though we have published this result, physicians are still hesitating to use then, but I assure everyone managing cases that 14 days (are enough),” he added.
The NCDC DG disclosed that the centre also removed the use of anti-virals like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine from its treatment guidelines. According to him, the anti-virals will now be used only in trials and also casually, because of safety concerns.
“The treatment protocol remains to manage symptoms, pre-existing conditions, supplemental oxygen therapy to different extents, treatment of bacterial infections and ensuring that patients are well nourished and well hydrated,” he said.
