A University of Nebraska Medical Center infectious diseases physician has been selected to be part of an expert panel of U.S. physicians and experts developing treatment guidelines for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Dr. Susan Swindells and others were invited to join the U.S. National Institutes of Health panel by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The NIH is the nation's medical research agency, which includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Swindells, a UNMC Department of Internal Medicine professor and founder of the Specialty Care Clinic, says she will serve on the 30-member panel of experts as long as needed. “It was an honor to be asked and my pleasure to be of service. It’s a terrific group to work with – smart, hard-working and thoughtful. Our first call was March 24th, so this was done in record time.”
Dr. Debra Romberger, the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine chair, says the department is pleased by Dr. Swindells’ involvement. “Dr. Swindells is extremely well-qualified to contribute to this NIH panel creating COVID-19 guidelines. Her track record of bringing new treatment strategies in other important infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV around the world gives her great insight.”
The NIH guidelines, intended for health care providers, are based on published and preliminary data and the clinical expertise of the panelists, many of whom are front line clinicians caring for patients during the rapidly evolving pandemic.
The guidelines consider two broad categories of therapies currently in use by health care providers for COVID-19: antivirals, which may target the coronavirus directly, and host modifiers and immune-based therapies, which may influence the immune response to the virus or target the virus.
The guidelines also describe the evaluation and stratification of patients based on their risk of infection and severity of illness. Recommendations in this section address best practices for managing patients at different stages of infection, for example:
- Outpatients who are either asymptomatic or who have mild to moderate symptoms and are self-isolating
- Inpatients with severe illness or critical disease
One section of the guidelines address a range of considerations for health care workers caring for the most critically ill hospitalized patients. Special considerations for pregnant women and for children who are infected also are included.