New Covid guidelines: Avoid steroids, get tested for TB if cough persists

Tuesday, 18 January 2022Newsdesk

Doctors treating patients with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) should avoid prescribing steroids and get them tested for tuberculosis if severe cough persists, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said in its updated set of guidelines.

New Delhi, 18 January 2022

According to the revised clinical guidelines for the management of adult Covid-19 patients issued by the health ministry on Monday, the use of steroids increases the risk of secondary infections, such as black fungus, and must thus, be avoided.As per news report ofThe Indian Express, the guidelines recommend testing for tuberculosis and other conditions if the cough persists for more than two to three weeks.Warning against the use of steroids in the early stages of clinical treatment, the guidelines stated: “Anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory therapy (such as steroids) can have risk of secondary infection such as invasive mucormycosis when used too early, at higher dose or for longer than required.”

Source - The Indian Express