In order to reduce practice variation and maintain the highest possible quality of care for our patients, we recommend the following references and guidelines to help inform clinical care for patients suffering from acute COVID 19 infections. As our collective understanding of this pathogen and its management evolve, please keep in mind that these sources may be modified or superseded.
Management of Acute COVID-19
A concise primer endorsed by the American Thoracic Society that addresses the basics of COVID 19 epidemiology, pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies:
National Institutes of Health COVID 19 treatment guidelines: these guidelines are broad, evidence-based, and most importantly, have been regularly updated throughout the pandemic.
Surviving Sepsis Campaign:
These guidelines are grounded in evidence-based management of acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and resuscitation. Although less specific and not as recently updated, they provide a solid starting point for managing COVID-related critical illness. An updated version is expected in the near future.
Department of Defense: DOD has produced a very detailed, practical, and well organized manual for the management of acute COVID-19 illness. This document is among the most detailed and thorough. It has been updated, but less frequently than the NIH guideline.
Resources to Support Non-Intensivists
SCCM
has also put together a series of high-quality tutorials for those who are asked to provide critical care services that may be outside of their normal scope of practice.
Telehealth Training
The Defense Health Agency has created a concise training program to introduce providers to the basics of tele-health practice, which may be particularly helpful to providers without extensive prior telemedicine experience