Govt adds loss of smell, taste to its list of Covid symptoms

NEW DELHI: India has revised the protocol for clinical management of Covid-19 to include “loss of smell and taste” to the list of nine other symptoms and has also allowed use of investigational therapies like Remdesivir and off-label use of Tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy on specific groups of patients.
Hydroxychloroquine continues as a repurposed drug but the new protocol suggests its use should be avoided in severely ill patients. The Centres revised protocol, however, has dropped antibiotioc Azithromycine which was earlier suggested along with HCQ for serious Covid patients.
Loss of smell and taste has been added to the list of symptoms after many patients were identified with such conditions in the initial stage. Many other health bodies across the world have also of late included this as a symptom of Covid-19 infection. Loss of smell and taste have been added as symptoms in addition to fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, myalgia, rhinorrhea, expectoration, sore throat and diarrhoea.
“As per data from Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) portal case investigation forms for COVID 19 (n=15,366), 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%,” the revised clinical management protocol, which will guide treatment of COVID-19 patients across the country, said. tnn
Remdesivir — a drug originally developed for Read More – Source

[contf] [contfnew]

times of india

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]